悪魔のような美しさ
*A Betrayal Knows My name, FanFiction
-By Mrithfaera
Welcome to my world, The Infernus. Home to demons and hellish creatures of all kinds and under the rule of the Demon King (My master), this land manages to work itself out and keep it's presence shielded from human eyes. The brand; clear as day, a relentless reminder of my place in this war and where I stand. Let's go back to the beginning to give you a better picture…
The CrossZeria Clan, my home. Every singe demon born into it is forced into a harsh life of slavery and servitude. The females are married and providing new members of the clan, early and the males are born into a life of fighting for your next breath. I, Luka CrossZeria was born into the worst place possible. My father had forced me to be his personal guard and general servant. To drink any blood he shed, to fight any battles for him, no matter how small or pointless, and to attend to his every whim without question. This hard life has sharpened my swordsmanship to an unimaginably sharp point and pushed my body to limits, unfathomable.
Prior to any thoughts before, No I do not get any special treatment. Hell, I don't even get a title, let alone a name. Just an alias, you don't show or tell your name here or you are under your captor's iron and unrelenting grip. Their word commands every drop of blood in your body until either you or they die. Whichever comes first, I suppose.
My brother was born into the same life I was, eventually taking my place. His treatment was worse, far, far, worse. I was my father's personal guard and body servant. My brother was all that added with a personal servant title. That little word, personal, when added to servant, pretty much strips you of anything you thought couldn't be taken away and more. Unlike me, he had to wear a uniform, attend to every whim, no matter how personal, no matter how much you would rather not to. Every little thing, the tiniest detail even, was under my father's control. The King had many rights and he exercised some more than others, servants or not. Every day, someone walked in to the King's Room and didn't walk out. Deaths were nothing special, just something that happens. No one mourns here.
The king was never benevolent and he always had a first trial when you were born into servitude. He had to brand you, to show his place over you and to get his hold and control over you. The mark of the bloody cross, the king's personal brand and saved for his servants only. It tested your pain tolerance, strength, and sometimes self-control. To prevent yourself from drawing your blade, to exact your revenge, or to prevent from showing weakness or submission, The branding, depending on the demon took anytime from an hour to multiple days to recover to a base level of servitude. After that, you were his, to follow any whim he offered. You had to, for each request put your life on the line, from loyalty or the dangerous aspects of the request. Your morals are never even considered during these requests and most are not for the squeamish or even the normal demon.
Our father never took a permanent queen, he never wanted one. He preferred the benefits of choosing multiple. My brother and my brother's lived the longest before she died, humiliated and shamed by her King, Most of the women here don't live very long, so getting them married and contributing is of the utmost importance. Among the Elite Clans, ours included, you only intermarry as to keep the bloodlines pure. The king portioned off women from all the clans to keep at the palace for his own personal motives. They lived at the palace, as concubines. They were prisoners but treated as the nobles they believed they were. Each one only staying the maximum period of one month before they were either released or found dead the next day. During my servitude, I was thankfully not his personal servant, another poor soul from the CrossZeria clan was and he did take women to bed on the King's command. My brother has to do the same and has never been the same since.
There were a total of 30 clans in the Infernus, each's children born into a different purpose. CrossZeria was the only one who provided royal servants. Many others supply for supporting the kingdom, agriculturally, militarily, or financially. Currently 15 of our 30 clans are producing soldiers only, the women interbreeding between clans in an effort to produce more soldiers. These women never married as they may have had offspring with over 40 different suitors. The older citizens are sent in as generals, sergeants, and war tacticians and strategists. The oldest are doctors and nurses; caring for the wounded so they can go back into the heat of war and protect their country
Now that you have heard about my previous life, let's move to forward to more current times…