[Dona's Pov]
Looking at the young boy who had no idea what kind of world he had stepped into, it was hard not to feel sorry for him.
Despite having heard his story, and how Lucifer had saved him, it was still not a happy story.
Being a demon was more than exhausting, and even though I had managed to make a very comfortable life for myself, there was still no insurance that I would get to keep living like this.
I had been forced to run away so many times in the past that it was hard to even remember my original name.
Despite that, and despite the fact that I had been persecuted and hunted by so many humans, I didn't hate them.
Because throughout the centuries I had seen the beauty of them as well, how they cared for their friends and die for their families.
Good and bad, just like demons, there were all sorts of humans and just because some of them did bad things, it didn't mean everyone did.
Demons were, in fact, a lot more inclined to commit bad deeds than humans.
One of the reasons was because of our history of always having to struggle for survival, and the other was...
"Graaa!"
'He finally woke up...'
The reason why I had come here was to see if Aarick had on the off-chance managed to connect with his core. Because when a demon started to refine their core, a lot of energy was drained from their bodies.
So even if Aarick had no need to consume human blood in a normal state, if he got lost when refining his core, his bloodlust would inevitably go out of control.
So now, his already red eyes were shining like illuminated rubies, and his fingernails quickly started to elongate and turn into sharp knife-like weapons.
Was I surprised by the fact that Lucifer had decided to not tell him about this? No.
Was I pissed as all hell as a result of having to clean up after her yet again? Absolutely.
Now lunging at me, unable to discern friend or foe, Aarick's claws were fully intent on tearing open my throat and consuming every single drop of the blood inside my body.
With a sigh, I had no choice but to show the small puppy his place. Timing his jump, I quickly dashed in underneath him and took hold of his collar.
Following this, a quick rotation was all I needed to throw him straight down onto the tatami-covered floor.
"Sit down!"
*BAM!*
"Argh?!"
Confused as to why his atrocious attempt of attacking me hadn't worked, the white-haired boy still consumed by his demonic urges tried to get up on his feet.
But there was no way I could allow that, instead pressing my knee down on his neck making him lie flat on his stomach, unable to move.
Opening up the spatial storage attached to my handy artifact in the form of a ring, I quickly withdrew one of the many blood bags I stored inside it.
Admittedly, I did feel a bit bad about what I was about to do, as it felt like Aarick still needed a lot more time to acclimate to his current situation, but he had unfortunately brought this upon himself.
Or rather, Lucifer had brought this upon him.
"Here you go."
Putting the bad next to his mouth, it didn't take long for him to rip it open with his fangs, followed by him gulping down the blood like a starved animal.
Before I knew it, he had consumed enough blood for his bloodlust to subside, promptly making him fall asleep with my knee still on his neck.
Seeing one of my kin getting lost in their own desires was as disgusting as always, and it was yet another reason why I couldn't truly hate humans for detesting us. Because ultimately, we were creatures that have to feed on them for survival.
"Snoreee..."
Standing up, I still felt quite good about the boy lying at my feet. Because he wasn't like anyone I had ever met. He was neither panicking due to the fact that he had become a demon nor had he gotten entranced by the temptation of power. He was merely resolved to keep living his life as best he could, and to him, being a demon or human didn't matter.
He hadn't even raised a brow when he learned that I was a demon, and even when being around his classmates, he wasn't acting as if he had somehow become superior to them.
All that mattered to him appeared that he was content with his own life.
"Let's get you home."
****
[Aarick's Pov]
"Hmm? Where am I?"
Opening my eyes, I quickly realized that I was lying on a bed in a dark room, a room that I still could see in very well thanks to my demonic traits.
"Isn't this the guest room in Ms. Zito's apartment? Wasn't I in the middle of class at the academy?"
Then, as if somehow knowing that I had woken up, the door leading to the living room opened, and with it a woman came in, her face scarier than ever. Because it was completely expressionless, something that was somehow even scarier than seeing her angry.
"Are you finally up? If so, come to the living room. We have some things to talk about."
'Hey, Lucifer. Do you know what this is about?'
'-I have no idea. But man, Dona sure looked scary, didn't she? Anyway, I'm going to sleep for a bit longer. Good luck!'
'Wait, Lucifer?!'
'-Zzz...'
'Damnit Lucifer!'
Sadly, I knew there would be no response, as I could clearly feel that this time she had, indeed, fallen asleep. She had already told me that she sometimes needed to rest, something about saving energy, but was there a reason why she had to be so strategic about it?
"Are you coming?"
Hearing the womanly voice coming from the other room, I knew there was no reason to delay the inevitable. So with that, I got to my feet and walked out into the living room where Ms. Zito was already waiting for me on one of the couches.
"Please sit down."
Taking my seat on the other couch, I felt like I had to try my best to keep her happy.
"Yes, madam."
"Don't call me madam!"
"Yes... Sir?"
"Just shut up!"
It didn't work all too well, but at least it didn't seem like she was so angry that I would have to be afraid to lose my life. Because after I had sat down, she pushed a cup of coffee on the marble table toward me.
"Ah, thank you."
Taking it into my hands, feeling the warmth spread through my body that was a bit chilly after having just left the comfort of a warm bed, I waited for whatever she had to talk with me about.
Suddenly, however, she just brought out her phone, and after unlocking it, she handed me it.
"Please watch."
On it, there was a video ready to be played, seemingly recorded inside what very much looked like the classroom designated for the mana manipulation course.
Pressing play, I wasn't sure what to expect, but after witnessing the insanity before my eyes, I sure as hell knew that that hadn't been it.
On it, a video of myself was recorded. A video showing me how I had for some reason gone completely mad and attacked Ms. Zito after growing huge claws, obviously intent on killing her.
After that, however, was something that I found to be a lot worse. Because after that I got to see how I had greedily gulped down what appeared to be more than a liter of pure blood, drinking as if it had been water after being stuck in the desert for days without sustenance.
"This... is this really..."
"Yes. That is really you. That is what happens when a demon loses control. There are many factors that can cause this, but in your case, it was because you had spent too much energy refining your core."
"So... I really drank human blood? Did someone..."
Shaking her head, she managed to at least clear my conscience by explaining the story behind the blood bag.
"No, that blood came from a hospital as a gift for my donations. No humans died to provide it."
"I see..."
Still, it was hard to come to terms with just what I had done. It was kind of ridiculous, really. Not even a week had passed before I had unknowingly passed the border that I felt was symbolic of becoming something other than a human.
Yet, at the same time, although I wanted to, I didn't really care all too much. Of course, because of how sudden it was it did come as a shock, but after taking a moment to really think about how I felt about it, it turns out that I didn't mind it.
In the end, in this world where the strong eat the weak, did it really matter if I consumed a bit of blood? In a world where humans had no claims of crushing other humans other than for greed and entertainment, what was a little bit of blood really?
Suddenly, a very soft and warm feeling enveloped my face, a feeling that I hadn't been expecting as I hadn't seen my teacher move at all due to being lost in my own thoughts. And then, although I hadn't noticed it myself, she spoke words that made it clear what kind of expression I was making.
"It's okay. It will be alright."
So, feeling the warmth of her chest and arms around me, I allowed myself to be weak for a moment. Because after this, there was no going back.