Fog covered Eliza’s mind as she stirred. To her rousing mind, it felt like she was floating in a space devoid of coherent thought and physical sensation. And then it hit her, a hunger so intense that it required, no, demanded immediate attention.

A scent assaulted her nose, blood. Her eyes opened, and she saw a large stone overhang above her. Faintly she heard the sound of clashing blades and howls of beasts. Somehow she knew that she needed to do something, that something was going on. But her ravenous mind could only focus on one thing, food.

She rolled over and pushed herself onto her hands and knees. It was then that she heard the sound of claws scraping against stone. Glancing to the left, she saw a Hellhound charging toward her.

A warning voice cried out, but Eliza couldn’t understand what they were saying, or she was too hungry to care.

The Hellhound rapidly closed the distance and leaped at her, teeth bearing to tear her throat out., Eliza didn’t think. She just moved.

Dropping to the ground, she rolled underneath the Hellhound. It flew over her, and she was stopped by a large stone she had rolled into. Using it, she pushed herself to her feet.

The Hellhound landed and immediately spun around and lunged at her. Eliza grabbed the big stone and swung it. Slamming it into the side of the Hellhound's head. A large crack echoed out, eliciting a yelp of pain from the Hellhound as it staggered back on unsteady legs.

Giving it no chance to recover, Eliza dashed forward and brought the stone down on its head once again. The force of the blow was strong enough cause its legs to give out from beneath it. It continued to resist, trying to get away as Eliza brought the stone down on its head again and again. But it was futile. Soon its yelps of pain turned into whimpers, and eventually, those also ceased.

When it stopped moving, Eliza threw aside the blood-soaked stone and looked down at her prey. The smell of its fresh blood invaded her nose, and saliva filled her mouth. Driven by pure hunger, she dropped to her knees next to the Hellhound and, lifting it by one of its legs, sank her teeth into it.

Blood flooded into her mouth, sweet and delicious, as she tore a chunk of flesh from the Hellhound's leg. In her rush to sate her hunger, she didn’t even take the time to chew before she swallowed.

She went to take another bite but froze right before she did. Suddenly clarity of mind flooded back to her as if a cold bucket of water had doused her. It then dawned on her what exactly she was doing.

Horrified, she dropped the Hellhound's leg. Its body slumped to the ground as she scrambled backward. When she made some distance, she wiped at her mouth with the back of her forearm. It came away covered in blood. She didn’t know what had come over her. How she had lost control and had become little more than a mindless beast was terrifying.

The lingering taste of the Hellhound's raw flesh still lingered in her mouth, and she was disgusted that even now, her mouth watered at the thought of eating more. In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of one of the group's water sacks. Immediately she lunged for it and rinsed her mouth with water. She spat out the liquid, a mixture of water and blood. It landed in the dirt and was quickly absorbed by the ground.

However, the taste lingered in her mouth, so she rinsed again. Again, the taste remained, so she went to rinse, but that was when someone stepped in and pulled the water bag from her hands. Her eyes followed the bag, her hand futilely grasping for it as it was raised out of her reach. She looked at the thief with a desperate, pleading look, but Leo only shook his head.

“I think that's enough. We only have so much fresh water,” Leo said, looming over her. His hands and clothes were covered in specks of blood, but Eliza couldn’t see any discernable injuries on him. Then she realized she had heard a battle going on. She shot to her feet and looked around for whoever was attacking them, only to see the corpses of Hellhounds and Beast-men littering the ground.

They were in a small clearing underneath a rocky overhang surrounded by the forest. Leah and Xalefore sat on a rock in the middle of the clearing, watching the surroundings. In her hands, she held a cloth that she was altering and demonstrated to Xalefore how to do something. Xalefore then proceeded to copy her and earned a head pat from Leah. Next to them sat a pile of clothes

“Relax, we took care of them,” Demitrus said, strolling up to Eliza and Leo while wiping blood off his blade with a small makeshift rag. He smiled at Eliza and held out the rag toward her.

She stared at the rag uncomprehendingly.

He sheathed his sword and pointed at his face, “You kinda have a lot of splattered blood all over your face; thought you might want to, you know, wipe it off?”

Immediately Eliza snatched the makeshift rag from his hands and, using a clean part, scrubbed her face with it. After a few seconds, she lowered the rag to find it smeared with blood. She shuddered as she held it in her slightly trembling hands. She ran her tongue over her teeth to ensure she had cleaned all the blood from her mouth.

That was when she discovered the first change in her body. She froze when her tongue passed over sharper teeth, much sharper. Slowly, she lowered the rag and raised a trembling hand to feel her teeth. Her canines had elongated into sharp points, and the tips of her fingers went numb when they came in contact with the substance coating them.

She lowered her hand and looked around the clearing before it dawned on her that she was standing alone without help. She didn’t feel any pain from her broken leg or the cuts on her feet. Dreading what had changed, she apprehensively looked down at her legs.

She could hardly believe they were hers. Her toes had elongated with long black claws protruding from where her nails used to be, and the balls of her feet had widened, allowing her toes to splay out over a larger area. What used to be her ankles curved up until they protruded out of the back of her shins, causing her feet to form a crescent shape. Standing in a way that felt natural, her knees were slightly bent forward, and the muscles in her thighs had become much denser. A black chitinous material had covered or replaced her skin, extending up to her lower thighs, forming a natural kind of armor. It was thick and inflexible around everywhere but her joints, allowing her to move her leg unimpeded.

Eliza lifted her leg and flexed the new muscles of her foot. She didn’t want to believe they were hers, but when they responded exactly as she directed them, she had no choice but to accept it.

“While you figure that out, I’m going to make one more round of the perimeter and gather the others up to leave,” Leo said, walking away.

Eliza numbly watched him go, unsure how she was supposed to feel about anything anymore. A few moments later, Isradine popped up.

“Look who’s awake now. How do you feel?” Isradine said, a small shadowy form appearing in front of Eliza.

“Take a guess,” Eliza said, cautiously taking several steps forward. It was weird at first, but as long as she treated walking like she was walking on the balls of her feet, permanently, she would be able to get used to it.

“Don’t be like that. At least you won't need another piggyback ride to get around anymore,” Isradine said, bobbing up and down.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“I would prefer a piggyback ride to this,” Eliza said, indicating toward her legs.

“I’m flattered,” Demitrus said. He was packing up the empty drawstring bags that, Eliza realized, had been laid out for her while she was going through the transformation.

Ignoring him, Eliza continued, “But it already happened. Why are you showing up now all of a sudden?”

“Oh, I didn’t have enough magic to manifest myself, but once you ate a bit of the Hellhound, I was able to process some of the residual magic in its flesh, and so now I can,” Isradine said, “On that note, I suggest you eat more to replenish our supply of magic.

Eliza blanched, “Is there another way?”

“Unless any of your compatriots are willing to make a contract, no. The fastest way to gather magic right now is to consume those with magic in them and convert it into ours, in short, other Demons.” Isradine said.

Demitrus, who had finished packing everything up and had sat on a large rock, noticed the look on Eliza’s face and asked, “How does making a contract help you gather magic?”

“As part of the contract, A Demon absorbs whatever magic is naturally within the contractee and converts it into their respective magic power. Depending on the contract, they then return some of it to the contractee, and the magic mutates the contractee’s body to handle it. Then whenever they grow in power by absorbing magic, the one who provided the magic, by extension, grows in power as well.”

“It sounds similar in concept to the way that the gods grow in power,” Leah said, walking up with Xalefore in tow, “Just less of the mutations and eating others. ”Walking up with the pile of clothes in her arms. Xalefore came up behind her, carrying his share of the clothes.

“That’s because Demonic magic is the chaotic magical energy uncontrolled by the gods. It corrupts and changes whatever comes in contact with it. But why do you want to know Demitrus?” Leo said, walking up, holding the baby Rakna in his hands.

“Well, to put it simply, I would like to make a contract.” He said, leaning back onto his hands.

“You what?” Leo asked.

“I’m fairly sure I didn’t stutter.”

“Are you crazy? Don’t you see what's happening to her because of the contract she made?” Leo said.

Eliza glowered at him, not appreciating being used as an example even though he was right.

“I thought we had already established that. Also, I planned to make a contract long before Eliza was forced to, and I’ve already come to terms with the…ramifications.”

“What could you gain by becoming a demon that you already can't get as a human? There are other options than selling your humanity.” Leo insisted.

Demitrus smiled bitterly, “That's where you're wrong. The gods dictate and choose who receives power. Who then hide behind their flowery words and ‘for the greater good’ bullcrap as everyone else essentially becomes their slaves.” Demitrus said. He then sneered, “Though I guess you wouldn’t know because up until you came to Grimhold, you were one of those chosen.”

Leo clenched his fist, “Even if that was the case, you're only selling one form of slavery for another.”

“Not quite, Slavery is when one is forced against their will to do things they don’t want to do with little to no compensation. But when two parties agree on the work to be done and the corresponding payment, it's a working contract. And as Isradine has said and Abernach showed, demons abide by their word. Which is much more than you can expect from humans most of the time.”

Leo went silent, not having much that he could say against that. Taking advantage of the break in the discussion, Isradine spoke up.

“Are you done, Elf boy? Because I would like to discuss this ‘working contract,’” She said, her shadowy mass excitedly bobbing up and down.

Leo glared at her and stormed off to the other side of the clearing. He stopped, pointedly looking out into the forest, supposedly keeping watch.

Isradine floated down until she was in front of Demitrus, "What do you want, boy?"

Demitrus smirked, "What can you offer?"

Isradine froze for a moment before finally saying, "I think you're already aware of how much I can offer right now, and I can guess what you want. I'll straight up tell you that I can't offer you the same level of contract as Eliza."

He tilted his head, "Why not?"

"Eliza’s contract essentially makes her a Demon's equivalent of a god's Scion. Few Demons are willing to make a contract of that level unless they're desperate because the contractee essentially becomes the Demon's near equal in power. Most importantly, only one contractee can be in that position at a time."

"If not that, then ill ask again, what can you offer? By making this contract, I'm essentially betting my life on the potential of what you can become, and I suspect it will require a lot of effort on my part to help build up your power. Naturally, I should get something significant in return for that."

Isradine went silent again, and her shadowy form flew in a slow circle around Demitrus's head as she thought. Eventually, she came to a stop in front of him.

"At most, I can offer you to be Eliza's second in command, with me being over her. Is that acceptable?"

Demitrus thought for a few moments and finally nodded, “It is.”

“Alright, but I have a couple of conditions to give you that kind of power. And know that these’ll bind you after you make your contract the same way a Demon is bound by their word.”

Demitrus raised an eyebrow, “And those are?”

“First, you cannot knowingly betray Eliza or me. Second, you must help us achieve our goals of revenge against those who have wronged us and cannot deliberately sabotage our efforts in doing this. Naturally, we will help you achieve your goals in return. Finally, you must fulfill the responsibilities that come with having that position. If you’re willing to swear to these things, the position will be yours.

“What exactly happens if a Demon breaks the contract or their word?”

“Our magic is bounded within the contracts we make. If you break that contract, the magic will no longer listen to you and go out of control. Normally that means turning into a mindless beast controlled by an insatiable desire to eat others to gain more magic.”

Demitrus tilted his head to the side as he thought it over, "If both you and Eliza also promise not to betray or sabotage me, then I see no problem."

"That's fine. Do you agree to that condition, Eliza?" Isradine asked, her form rotating to look at Eliza.

Eliza met Demitrus’s gaze. “Are you sure about this? I don’t know if there’s a way to stop it after things like this start happening.” She said, pointing to her legs. She knew it was pointless, but she didn’t want him to go through the same pain she had felt, so she had to try.

He smiled self-deprecating and shook his head, “I already lost the right to back out. This is something I need to do. Thanks for the concern, though."

Eliza sighed, "Very well, I won't knowingly betray or sabotage Demitrus," she said, "if he makes the contract," She added at the end.

Demetrius smiled, "I’ll accept the contract with those conditions, Isradine.”

It seemed like the air around them froze as if it was holding its breath, “The contract has been made. Extend out one of your hands.” Isradine said.

Demitrus held out his right arm, and Isradine extended out a dark shadow that took the form of a clawed hand. As soon as their hands shook, a white mist seeped out of Demitrus and flowed toward Isradine. Then, A familiar black, intermixed with specks of violet, energy flowed out of Isradine towards Demitrus.

As Demitrus’s magic flowed into Isradine, Eliza felt an influx of magic in herself. It grew rapidly and eventually slowed down. With it, she felt a surge in energy that wiped away the exhaustion she hadn’t even been aware she had.

Leah and Xalefore watched the whole process with wide eyes. When the flow of magic petered to a stop, Xalefore started jumping up and down in excitement, “Cool! Xalefore never see Shadow Weaver contract happen before!”

Leah looked at Isradine with an excited glint and asked, “You mentioned your clan was called the Shadow Weavers. Does that mean you can actually weave the shadows? Or is it just an expression?”

“We can,” Isradine said with a hint of pride and then added. “We're particularly good at weaving our magic into our clothing,”

“Don’t even think about it,” Leo said, walking up. The baby Rakna nestled into his arms. Eliza was unsure if it was sleeping or not.

“But Leo-” Leah began to say, but Leo held up a hand, silencing her. “We need to get moving. Have you both finished the clothes?”

Slightly pouting, Leah said, “We did. We worked all day on them. Even figured out something to work for Eliza’s new legs.”

“Good job, thank you for doing that,” Leo said, patting Leah on the head.

Leah glowered at him and pointed to Xalefore, “Thank him too. He helped a lot.”

Xalefore jumped up and proudly displayed his head to receive some head pats.

Hesitating, Leo met Leah’s insistent gaze and sighed, awkwardly giving Xalefore head pats, “Thank you for your help as well, Xalefore.”

Eliza was utterly confused as to what was going on. At what point had they the time to make clothes, and more importantly, why?

She looked at Demitrus for help, and he seemed to understand her plight.

“You were down for about a day, and we’ve been attacked by a couple of scouting parties that tracked us.” he said, indicating toward the bodies lying in the clearing, “Since we had the time, Leah went to work modifying some of their clothes because it's probably not a good idea to walk into a city wearing an enemy nations military clothes.”

“I see…” Eliza said, looking down at the shirts, pants, and even cloaks pile. “Won’t they still wonder why a group consisting of two still mostly humans and two elves are in a Demon city?”

“Not really, they're a couple of humanoids in shape species of Demons. So long as we hide your lack of claws and horns, and since all of you are already covered in the smell of human blood. Few would probably question it with you coming from the SteelBlood territory. At least until we reached the Shadow Weaver Clans building.” Isradine said, “So get changed. We should get going before another patrol finds us now that you're up.