He didn't know how long the battle lasted, maybe it was a day, or maybe a few hours...
One couldn't really tell, since the sky above them was perpetually red without a single change.
But the sounds of battle soon died down and he managed to peek out from his cover, the results were just as he had expected.
The larger hatchling stood in the middle of the field, surrounded by the corpses of its kin.
Its chest rose and fell heavily as it breathed.
It had managed to win the battle, but it was left heavily injured, though it wasn't too worried about that,
After all, it now had an almost infinite supply of food, if it just kept feeding, the wounds should take less than a week to completely heal.
It turned its back, towards one of the corpses, unaware of its hungry little kin that remained alive.
A mistake that would soon cost it heavily....
'This is a bad idea,' he thought to himself, but the next second, he burst out from his hiding spot and charged.
The injured demon barely had time to react before he slammed into it from the side, an impact which knocked the larger hatchling off balance.
They both crashed to the ground, and barreled a few times.
The creature snarled violently, trying to swipe at him with its claws, but he had already moved out of the reach of its attack.
This body was surprisingly agile and athletic for its size, but that was only because he was judging it based on human standards.
He climbed onto its back, digging his claws deep into its wounded side.
The demon roared and thrashed wildly, trying to shake him off, but the injuries from the earlier battle had already weakened it enough.
"This better taste good!" He said before opening his mouth wide and locked it on the demon's neck, ripping out a large chunk of flesh and gulping it in one go.
Roar!!!!
It let out a pained roar as black blood spurted out the wound on its neck, before it suddenly extended its arm towards its back, finally grabbing unto the pest that was momentarily distracted before tossing it away.
He flew through the air before crashing into the dirt several meters away.
The impact knocked the wind out of him and sent a sharp jolt of pain through his body.
"Grrk—!"
Another garbled growl escaped his throat as he rolled across the ground before finally stopping beside an eggshell.
For a brief second, the world around him seemed to be spinning, but he managed to get a hold of himself as his instinct kicked in.
He scrambled back to his feet just as a massive claw slammed into the ground where he had been lying just moments before.
BOOM!
The larger demon glared down at him, its glowing eyes burning with rage as it wanted nothing but to tear this little pest to bits.
It wasn't even interested in eating the pest anymore, all it wanted was to see it torn apart.
Thick black blood continued to pour from the torn wound on its neck, dripping onto the ground.
The chunk he had ripped out had done real damage, but it clearly wasn't enough.
Though, he must say, the demon's meat wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, if anything, he wanted.....more?
Well, that was a want for when he survived, right now, he NEEDED to stay alive and defeat his charging angry brother.
He barely managed to dive to the side as the demon's claws tore through the spot he had just been standing on.
Before he could even regain his balance, the demon swung its tail like a whip.
SLAM!
The sharp tip slammed into his side and sent him tumbling again as another wave of pain flared through his body.
He hit the ground hard and rolled several times before finally managing to stop himself.
He stood up straight with a groan, sure that he had broken a bone.....or a couple.
"You wouldn't happen to want to call this even, would you?" He said in whatever garble language he was speaking but that just got the larger demon angrier.
ROAR!!!!!
Was its reply.
"I guess not."
He quickly jumped to the side, avoiding another claw strike and again, the demon followed up with a tail attack, but this time, he was prepared.
Since he didn't have enough time to dodge, he sent both his hands forward just in time to grab the approaching tail.
The force almost sent him flying, but he held on tightly.
Before the larger demon could shake him off or try to grab him, he bit down on its tail, ripping it off in one go, causing it to let out a howl of pain.
He landed nimbly on the ground as he tossed the tail aside and crouched low, with his claws digging into the dirt as the demon lunged at him again, now even more furious and extremely unbalanced.
Without its tail, the demon found it harder to move, much less Sprint at him, so he took advantage of this fact.
He dashed towards the demon who then lifted both its claws, ready to turn its smaller kin into pieces, but just before they could reach the pest, he slid beneath it, using its much smaller form to its advantage.
The moment he was behind it, he latched on to its back again and opened his maws wide.
Before the demon could react, he bit into its neck again and this time, he refused to let go.
The demon thrashed violently, its claws raking through the air as it tried to reach him, but the loss of its tail had thrown off its balance completely.
It then roared again, louder before it slammed its own body backward.
BOOM!
His vision went white for a moment as the demon slammed both of them into the ground, but he stubbornly refused to release his grip.
If anything, he bit harder.
"DIE ALREADY!" he growled through a mouthful of flesh.
The demon's claws finally found him.
Sharp talons dug into his side, ripping through skin as it tried to pry him off, but again, he refused to let go.
Letting go now would very likely lead to his death, so no matter what, he wouldn't stop until it was dead.
With a violent twist of his neck, he tore out another chunk of the larger demon's neck, this time, its throat following along.
The demon's roar cut off abruptly, turning into a wet, choking gurgle.
But instead of stopping, he continued biting, over and over, until the resistance beneath him grew weaker… and weaker…until it stopped moving.
Only when he was completely sure that this wasn't just a trick did he finally release the demon and stood up, revealing a mouth stained with dark blood.
He looked down at the demon, pausing do a few seconds before a chuckle escaped his lips, one that soon transformed into a full blown maniacal laughter.
Or at least that's what he intended to happen, but all that came out was a garble.
Though, he didn't really care as he continued 'laughing' before stopping and looking down, at his dead kin.
"I really beat it."
His laughter was suddenly interrupted when a black glowing orb exited the larger demon's body and approached his, immediately causing him to put up his guard.
But it was all useless as the black glowing orb passed through his extended arms and went directly into him.
For a few seconds nothing seemed to be happening.
But a glowing interface suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Soul detected]
[Booting....]
[Boot up successful]
[SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[Welcome host, to the Soul Architect System.]