Rearing Demons
Chapter 44: Velmira and Karo

Chapter 44: Velmira and Karo

Within the deep caverns of the cave, there was one particular spot strikingly different from the rest.

Most of the corridors were piled with blood, flesh, and all manner of revolting remains. Antic corpses littered the floor, while Weeping Lords—each powerful, nearing Gralith rank—stood guard along the walls.

At the very end of this path, two actual Gralith demons stood in silent vigil, fronting an area that looked startlingly pristine.

Unlike the black-and-grey walls dripping with gore, this corner of the cave was spotless and white, not a speck of dust anywhere. The ceiling glowed with a gentle blue light, and there was even furniture reminiscent of a human’s bedchamber.

At the center of a large, immaculate room, stood a fluffy, inviting bed—an almost dreamlike sight amid so much horror.

On that bed were two individuals.

"You are truly beautiful." Velmira murmured, having placed Karo onto the soft bedding. A radiant smile lit her face, shining with a warmth strangely at odds with her surroundings. "You didn’t run; you stepped forward."

As she spoke, her pale fingers traced his cheek, an almost tender caress.

Karo—unusually handsome by mortal standards, though not breathtaking among cultivators—began to stir. Groaning faintly, he opened his eyes, brow knitting in confusion at the gentle pressure on his face.

"You’re finally awake," Velmira said in a honeyed voice. Indeed, her beauty bordered on impossible—a perfection that defied nature itself.

"Huh...?" Karo’s gaze swept the room, his mind still hazy. Weakness gnawed at him; he felt thoroughly drained.

"What’s...going on...?" he asked in a rasp.

"Nothing. You’re with me now," she replied, still stroking his cheek with a sweetly intimate gesture. Her eyes shone with what might have been fondness—or something darker.

"Wait—" His vision focused, adrenaline spiking. He recognized her face at once. "Mother of Pus!" he blurted, lurching off the bed into a defensive stance.

"Oh, please." Velmira caught his arm before he could fully rise, tugging him back until their faces nearly touched. "We are not going to fight," she insisted softly.

Though her face was the most captivating he had ever seen—her lips almost inviting a kiss—Karo felt only dread. Fear pounded in his chest instead of desire.

"And please, don’t call me that hideous title." Her arms slid around his neck, bringing her body flush against him. "My name is Velmira. So...what’s your name?"

Her tone was sweet, yet possessive, like one claiming a prized object.

"What are you doing?" he sputtered, alarm and fear pooling in his eyes. Staring up close, her gaze was like precious gems—too dazzling, holding a subtle threat beneath the beauty.

"What do you mean?" She blinked at him, looking momentarily confused. "Isn’t this how humans behave if they want...intimacy?"

"Intimate?" He repeated, stunned, forcibly aware that her legs straddled his hips, arms locked behind his neck. He was pinned. If he fought back, she could kill him with trivial ease.

Not that he’d stand a chance even if he were free.

"Yes. Intimate," Velmira nodded, her warm breath fanning across his cheek.

Surprisingly, she smelled of fresh blossoms, not the rancid odor one might expect from the demon behind so many monstrous minions.

"Why haven’t you killed me?" he managed, voice taut. He couldn’t do much else but talk, hoping to stall or glean information about his predicament.

"Why would I kill you?" Velmira seemed genuinely perplexed. "You’re mine."

"Yours...?" Though terror coursed through him, he sensed she wasn’t simply toying with him for bloodsport. "In what way am I ’yours’?"

She smiled as she shifted upright, settling elegantly on his stomach. "You’re mine. I find you beautiful, and I..." Her eyes glowed, smoldering with a hint of longing, "I’m beautiful, too, right? So, I want you."

"Want me in what sense?" he asked warily, recalling how demons typically wanted flesh or blood, or something far more nightmarish.

She tilted her head. "I want you to be my lover—not a slave or food, but something more precious." Her hand crept from his torso to brush against his lower abdomen, making him tense. A faint smirk curved her lips. "I can sense you reacting. You do want me, on some level."

Despite her perfect human form, memories of her true monstrous identity—the vile mother of countless Antics—flooded Karo’s mind. It was unthinkable to mate with such a demon.

"Kill me," he said abruptly. Though he feared dying, the idea of bedding the Mother of Pus filled him with revulsion. "I’d prefer that to being your...whatever you want to call it."

She paused, obviously taken aback. "What? Aren’t I—beautiful?"

"What about your real form?" he challenged, meeting her gaze with grim defiance. "Don’t lie to me with this false shell."

"This isn’t false." Velmira’s voice quivered, heartbreak shining through. "It’s my true

Seeing the pained look on her face, Karo almost felt a pang of sympathy—but quickly reminded himself of her manipulative powers. He refused to let pity ensnare him.

"I mean it—kill me," he demanded. "I’d sooner die than be your plaything."

"What’s so wrong with being my lover?" Her words held a tinge of desperation, her tone growing softer yet more insistent. "Look at me..." She trailed off, letting her exquisite visage speak for itself.

He shook his head, refusing to budge. "Kill me."

"Why?!" she cried, voice rising in frustration. I made myself so beautiful—why am I being spurned? Slowly, she slid off him, sitting to one side with tears brimming in her eyes. "Can’t you at least try?"

Seizing the moment, Karo scrambled off the bed, pulse racing. But when he saw Velmira’s face, brimming with such genuine sorrow, he faltered momentarily. Is this an illusion? A trick?

"I know you won’t let me truly escape," he said stiffly. "So just kill me."

She sighed, reclining on the bed’s edge, and reached out her hand in invitation. "I won’t kill you—I told you," she murmured, a weary sadness underlying her words. "I... want you with me."

"Why?" he asked, mind reeling. "I’m weaker than you, I’m just a nobody."

A soft smile warmed her features. "I like how you are. We demons, we fight and wage war, and humans are no different. Yet you, despite facing certain death, stood your ground." She let out a small laugh. "I thought, ’If he and I were together, maybe I’d feel the way humans do—cared for.’"

He gaped at her. "You’re a demon," he repeated, voice faltering. "How do you even feel like that—"

"Demons aren’t emotionless," Velmira replied with a faint, wounded look. "We live and breathe just like you."

"You’re the Mother of Pus," he snarled, fear overshadowing any empathy. "You’re the single most revolting—"

Before he finished, she snatched a pillow, pressing it to her face in anger. "Stop calling me that!" Her tone morphed from outraged to desolate in a heartbeat. "I told you—my name is Velmira! I’m not that monster anymore..."

"But you—" he tried again.

"I’m not!" she snapped, chucking the pillow at him. He flinched, expecting a lethal blow, but it merely bounced off his chest. "I was that thing, but never again," she declared. "I want to leave this cursed place—see the world and feel love—without being branded a monster."

She puffed her cheeks in a strangely girlish manner, stunning Karo with how she shifted between terrifying demon and naive maiden.

"But you’re..." he started, only to have her cut him off:

"If you insist on calling me that name again, then—" she hesitated, trembling but forcing composure. "Then you can just leave!"

"I can leave?" Karo echoed, relief flaring. "You won’t kill me?"

She glared. "I said I won’t. I care for you."

He said nothing more, deciding to turn toward the exit.

"But... I want you to stay," she called out, her voice suddenly meek. "I want someone who sees me as I am. Not a monster, not a tool—just... me."

He steadied himself, swallowing. "I’m flattered—but you’re a demon, and I’m human." He carefully avoided harsh words, fearing she’d lash out.

"What if—" she began quietly, "what if I never took on that disgusting form again? What if I turned half demon..." She lifted her eyes to his, hopeful. "I would remain this way."

"Half demon?" Karo frowned, baffled. "Like demonic cultivators?"

She shook her head. "No. There’s a way for me to stay as a demon and stay human in shape—rid myself of that old form completely."

He blinked. "Why do you want that?"

She looked away. "I never liked that form. The smell, the gore, everything about it repulsed me."

"I don’t think it’s so bad," came a sudden voice from the doorway. The intruder’s tone was cool, laced with dry amusement.

Velmira startled, leaping up from the bed and moving protectively in front of Karo, her expression twisting from softness to alarm.

"Oh...?" the voice repeated, stepping into the bright chamber. "So, the little princess of filth has fallen for a human?"

"Aglazeth!" Velmira hissed, her features tightening in obvious hostility.