Almost two hundred ago, part of some words merged with earth and changed it forever, the reason for the merging wasn't fully known but it brought something the humans called "apocalypse" where monsters invaded earth.
It also brought the System, the crypt and mana that made Arcana possible for humans and different species.
As a Noble Demon, his place was amongst the Demon Princes that ruled the Demon City that floated somewhere above in the sky. It was the city created by the Demon for the Demon after a long war with the humans.
Different species kept to themselves now, except for monsters who were...more uncivilized. They usually used monsters for leveling up.
Belialthorn glared around him. "Even though it is the humans that are uncivilized. They even considered us Demons as monsters!"
"At least up in the City, I would be protected from bounty Hunters there." Belialthorn thought but he had never been protected before in his life. He had always been too weak to claim a territory for himself amongst his fellow princes. Worse, he was always even bested by normal Demons.
And that had led him to be cast from the City and thrown down here amongst low-level monsters who shook in terror at his presence.
"At least I have some things even scared of me."
Belialthorn had cleared this temple he was using as his own from some monsters. His occasional fight with humans had made him levelled up quick and kept him well fed. If only his species did not have an age limit that must be filled sometimes to continue leveling up.
"I need to level up but I have to age to a certain age to continue from level 299. I need to reach 100 years to continue leveling up. I'm tired of fighting every time while waiting." Belialthorn complained.
His once full black hair had lost its fullness, and his rich skin had been riddled with scars. Even his horns was not left out, its blackness faded with the constant use of fighting. His clothes were nothing more than rags on him now. And his leathery wings were pressed hard against his back, it was used only for fighting.
"Why did they even continue coming after me? How much is the gold put up in my name for bounty? Enough for Hunters to keep coming here to their death." Belialthorn thought.
"It doesn't matter. What I should plan next is what I want to do next. I can't fight in the next hours not with these wounds on me, not to talk of the next 62 years." Belialthorn bent and started inspecting the Hunter's weapons.
He could always run but that would only be a temporary solution, besides his pride wouldn't let him. His heightened sense could already smell more team of Hunters coming.
"Little meat always crawling all over the place!" Belialthorn swore. He was low on mana and was covered in wounds, he didn't know how powerful this team could be and it would be dangerous to risk it.
"Next to option two then, hiding."
Belialthorn stepped over the bodies of the dead Hunters. "Should I eat them?" His stomach rumbled and his mouth twitched with the need to feast but he had no time, the new Hunters were coming, fast.
Belialthorn went to the doorway opened his mouth wide and roared, sending his Demon voice swiping outside like a small tornado. With his mind he crafted an Arcana illusion of himself, it wasn't perfect but it was good enough from a distance, then he sent the illusion flying over his temple before making it fly away with its black leathery wings.
The illusion would hold for a while, hopefully, the Hunters would only see a Demon flying away.
Belialthorn ignored his wounds and went to his medium-sized treasures. It was a pathetic pile of coins he stole from merchants during one of his raids and some weapons from the Hunters always fighting him. And books that he had stole with the coins.
"A Demon Prince should have more treasures," Belialthorn muttered. His senses warned him that the Hunters were getting closer.
He picked a ring at the top of his treasure and pumped mana into it, the ring glowed then it began swallowing his other treasures, leaving only the books. His mana dipped, it wasn't a large treasure and within minutes it was all gone into the ring. Then Belialthorn swallowed the ring.
He called up his status and looked for a particular skill.
* Form changing - A skill used by Demon since creation, used for spying and breeding with other species without showing their true form.
* Forms Available now:
Human male.
When this skill is active, all Demonic aura and instinct are suppressed. Your Demon class will be hidden for the time this skill is active.
Belialthorn hated this skill. A Demon Prince should have skills like, *Demon Overlord*, *Demonic Soul Weapon* or "Demonic Domain* but the system had offered this one to him. He would have been a fool to refuse.
He fed power to the skill and his body shuddered with a mixture of pain and disgust as the skill warped around him, settling into place over him.
The skill turned him from a Demon Prince to a pathetic
human.
Name: Belialthorn
Species: Human
Age: 18
HP: 150/ 400
AP: 145/400 [Arcana power]
Strength: 30
Agility: 20
Belialthorn could feel his Demon status hidden under the fake one. Almost all his Demon skills were inactive but now he was nothing more than a human man.
Albeit a human with a higher attribute than the "unclassified," all he had to do was avoid deep scans from humans to maintain his disguise.
Belialthorn looked down at himself, he was all soft and smooth without the protection of his hardened skin. Or his wings. How had humans survived with this skin? They couldn't even sleep on their treasure like this!
All Belialthorn could see from his body was fat and meat. What he ate steadily everyday. At least he would pass with this average body.
He relaxed then, his head was still rolling from the shift in his perspective and body, even processing the new hormones flowing into his new body gave him a headache.
Belialthorn took clumsy steps forward to meet with his "helper" his new body jiggling with each step. He was so focused on putting one foot in front of the other that he stepped on gore, slipped and fell, struggling to breathe as a new sensation of pain and confusion flooded him.
And he began to cry, great sobs rolled through him as salty water dripped down his cheek. Belialthorn was baffled, what was all this?
As a Demon, he knew nothing about tears and had only seen it on humans when dying. A sign of weakness. A Demon Prince reduced to this is pathetic. Simply pathetic.