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The Netherworld was a dangerous place, filled with massive magical creatures bristling with fangs, claws, and scales as hard as steel. Its inhabitants were just as tough, possessing large wings, great prehensile tails, and horns to ram their enemies or prey. But that was before the great cataclysm that changed the Netherworld forever. Approximately 500 years before the reign of the Demon King Derkila, the cataclysm swept through the Netherworld, it was not fire nor lava, nor was it water or ice; it was magic, and from magic, no one escapes.
The cataclysm completely altered life in the Netherworld to unimaginable degrees: horns vanished, hands transformed, and legs and claws mutated. The inhabitants of the Netherworld mutated forever, abandoning the humanoid forms they had been so proud of to be covered instead in feathers, fur, and crests. The cataclysm came to be known as "The Great Purge". For it purged all demonic DNA.
That is why, ever since, every demon ceased to be a demon, and society was completely rewritten in ways that were absurd yet efficient. The demons mutated into great birds, leaving all humanoid appearance behind to transform into fearsome birds of prey, corvids, or similar avian species. They kept their original size as demons and retained the ability to keep growing, but they no longer had hands, they had wings. They no longer had feet, they had robust legs with sharp talons. They no longer had demonic tails, they had feathered bird tails. Society ceased to exist as everyone had known it, and for that exact reason, they had to adapt or die.
They already carried natural flight in their genes, so that was not a problem; the real problem lay in their ability to grip, sit, walk, or hold things with their talons. The demons stopped being demons and began calling themselves Avians. They learned to clamp their talons without straining the tarsus of their legs so they could hold quills, perch on roosts, and strengthen their sturdy limbs. Society adapted quickly, they built and improved cities and buildings, implemented new laws, and finally Derkila arrived, the most beloved Demon King in all the Netherworld, even before the Great Purge, an Avian of a massive raptor species with a serrated beak and magnificent feathers. And then... he vanished. No one knows where he is right now, or if he is even still alive.
The Avians progressed in a precarious peace, always searching for the next heir to the throne among the three most powerful, but these three refused to claim it. Society kept surviving, and once again, things happened. The oldest raptor-class Avians stopped mating; there were no longer pairs joining together to form the next line of raptors. One bird suffered this most severely, and they were never seen again: Harpy Eagles ceased to be born. Now, only the more common birds of prey remained; Imperial or Iberian eagles, Sea Eagles, or Kites, alongside corvids, swans, birds of paradise, or lesser raptors. But never again was a raptor class Avian of the Harpy Eagle species seen... Until Iruma Suzuki arrived.
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When Iruma was rescued from drowning, he never expected his savior to be a gigantic barn owl. Its dimensions were impossible as it easily measured over two meters tall and a few more wide, with his enormous wings spwanning just as many meters. His talons closed around Iruma's shoulders with exceptional gentleness, but the whipping wind against his wet clothes made Iruma shiver from the cold. He was confused, the bird only screeched, yet his eyes were supremely intelligent. Iruma didn't know how to react as they began to ascend higher and higher above the clouds. The air was starting to feel too heavy in his lungs, and then... the owl let him go in the middle of the sky.
The last thing Iruma saw was his descent beginning as the sky ceased to be blue, turning black with stars in a pattern resembling an abstract art painting. His eyelids closed, and he lost all sense of his limbs and surroundings, feeling as though he were floating in an ocean. He couldn't open his eyes properly, but he could feel something starting to creep up his arms and legs.
"Wake up, my dear boy!"
Iruma clumsily opened his eyes, and the first thing he received was a barrage of information far too vast for his brain to process. He couldn't wrap his mind around how sharp his vision had become, he even could see the dust motes. When he shook his head and tried to touch his face to soothe the throbbing pain, he realized he had no fingers, nor even hands. The limb that responded to him was an arm, or perhaps a wing clad in dense, greyish feathers. Iruma blinked rapidly and looked at himself: his entire physiology had changed. His body felt fine though a bit strange, but with no pain or phantom sensation regarding his missing hands or legs. Turning his neck in a near perfect swivel, Iruma let out a squawk upon realizing his entire appearance had transformed. He had grey feathers tinged with white, enormous feet with sickle shaped black talons, a rudder tail that fanned open and shut at a mere thought, and a crest that raised and flattened on impulse... Iruma had to be dreaming, because this made no sense at all!
"My goodness, my dear... I never thought I would see a Harpy Eagle as majestic as you ever again."
"Excuse me... What... What happened? Where am I? Who are you?"
"Don't worry, Iruma. My name is Sullivan, and I am an Avian... Or what in your world would have been known as a demon, had the Great Purge not occurred."
"Great Purge...?"
"You see, Iruma, your parents... made a contract with me. They sold your soul when you were barely a chick in exchange for luxury, and I accepted because I was looking for a grandchild to spoil. The contract stipulated that I was to retrieve you on your 23rd birthday, but I certainly didn't expect to have to retrieve your soul from a stormy sea like that. It's a shame about your body..."
"That sounds very much like something my parents would do, but... my body? Excuse me, Mr. Sullivan, what do you mean by my body?"
"Your parents sold me your soul, my grandson. Never your body."
"That means..."
"Yes, your body perished in the stormy sea of the human world. You see... the demons of old shared a somewhat humanoid appearance with you humans, but a very long time ago, a magical cataclysm cursed us into avian forms, while preserving our size and potential growth. There are no longer any humanoid beings here in the Netherworld, let alone humans. Thus, your soul took on a container from our genetics, though I never imagined you would become an Avian of a raptor class as rare as a Harpy Eagle."
"It's a lot of information... But... I belong to you now, right? Same executioner, different weapon…"
"No, Iruma. You do not belong to me as an object or a slave. You belong to me because you are now my grandson and my family. I don't want you to work yourself to death; I want you to be happy, to live a life that was denied to you, and above all, to enjoy a second chance."
The owl looked at him fondly, narrowing his golden eyes with care and extending his long neck so his sharp beak could preen the crest on Iruma's head, which was trembling from processing so much information in such a short time. There was no going back; he had no body to return to. But now... he could live a new life, couldn't he? Sullivan observed how Iruma still possessed those bright blue eyes, and how the feathers of his crest were flecked with a beautiful cobalt blue. Sullivan hooted gracefully and turned his neck as the flapping of wings made itself heard. A striking, giant reddish sea eagle appeared, bearing a crest of naturally longer feathers that resembled ears, along with wild, gleaming eyes. Sullivan introduced him as Opera, the mansion's butler.
From that moment on, a backward race began where Iruma had to learn everything from scratch. He had to use his talons to calculate the exact force needed to hold a pencil, grip a bowl with a special handle, or simply strengthen his new legs to stand perched for hours. At first it was difficult, but Iruma was a master of adaptation and didn't take long to master the challenge. He also learned to walk with elegance. Opera explained that Avians could walk and run, unlike human birds, but always preferred to fly or stay perched at rest. Even for a short distance or a ridiculous glide, Avians preferred that over walking, while not looked down upon, walking was simply a matter of personal preference.
Opera took charge of explaining Avian culture to him, the different species that existed, and how he despite being a giant sea eagle, did not fall into the same category as Iruma. He warned him to be careful when interlocking talons with other birds of prey he might encounter, as prolonging the contact was usually considered a challenge. He also explained that common clothing like t-shirts or pants didn't exist. Avians wore chest guards, knee pads, or even claw caps placed over their real talons to appear more threatening and dangerous.
The hardest part for Iruma was learning to fly because he was clumsy, like a newly hatched chick. But Opera nipped at him gently to correct him, and the beating of his wings ceased to feel like a foreign sensation, becoming an almost immediate necessity to feel whole. The real challenge arrived when he began analyzing the air currents himself, he felt them tickling every steering feather on his wings, feeling his chest expand as his lungs filled with air. It took Iruma a few months to fly properly, but Sullivan and Opera were unaware that with each passing day, Iruma was becoming bolder and more daring with his own body. Iruma realized he had to learn on his own to know every feather on his wings and every movement to properly harmonize with his new world.
"Are you ready, Iruma? Remember, Babyls is a place full of Avians of all kinds... but if you ever feel overwhelmed, Babyls offers roosting perches in the highest bell towers and turrets."
"Don't worry, Grandpa, I think I've got the hang of it. I just have to avoid standing out too much."
"My dear boy, that will be difficult. This year, it seems you aren't the only raptor-class Avian. Though you are all the more special for being a Harpy Eagle."
"Grandpa... do you mean there are no other birds like me?"
"Minor details, my grandson! There are other raptors you can socialize with, so don't be afraid of such things."
«Minor details my ass...»
Iruma stared at his grandfather blinking in surprise and sighed because that seemed just like his grandpa. Over the months, Iruma had accepted his new life, his grandfather and Opera, who he considered an older brother, but that lack of information was something he would have preferred to know earlier. Still, it explained why everyone else looked at him with such surprise and curiosity. Iruma raised his crest with a subtle twitch of patience, said goodbye to his grandfather and Opera with affectionate little nips of his beak, and spread his wings to fly toward Babyls.
The building was colossal even for an Avian of Sullivan's size, the structure was massive. Because everyone preferred arriving on wing, it was spacious and mostly open, with tall, vaulted corridors designed to yield to the winds of flying birds or those who preferred to walk. The classrooms had various entry points across different areas of the same walls to prevent bottlenecks at a single entrance. The whole setup reminded him of avian sanctuaries, only adapted for a continuous stream of fluttering wings. Iruma glided high above the ground, ascending or descending to dodge other Avians who were eyeing him out of the corners of their eyes.
Following the crowd, he arrived at a set of roosts where massive birds were perched, handing out class schedules with their beaks. There was one terrifying Avian who easily stood at more than 180 cm tall, his wings had a vast wingspan that darkened his chest of black feathers. Like Opera's natural crest, this Avian had a formation resembling ears or horns, and his dark feathers held purple undertones. When this teacher turned his neck and looked at him, Iruma crest bristled on instinct, and he lowered his gaze, seeking no confrontation. Settling onto the perch, he received his schedule, taking it in his beak before fluttering away quickly before anyone could ask him anything. He stopped at an exterior roost, held the laminated schedule with his talons, and checked the class he had been assigned to; The Abnormal Class? Well.. According to the map layout, the Abnormal Class wasn't downstairs or on solid ground... but up in Turret 5B?
Iruma tucked the paper into the small chest pack designed specifically for Avians, straightened his body, and set off to find Turret 5B. He spent two hours circling until he found it. It was the oldest, most dilapidated turret, a true roosting haven, filled with worn perches and stone coated in years of dust. The centuries old oak beams seemed to creak against the wind blowing through its natural and not-so-natural openings. Iruma realized the Abnormal Class was the dumping ground of Babyls, or at least the most troublesome group that no one wanted to interact with.
Iruma landed on the limestone, fluffing his wing feathers. It didn't take him long to realize there was another Avian present... but different in appearance. He was large and slender, his feathers a whitish shade with a subtle pink gradient that darkened at the tips. His massive talons were curved, serrated claws, and the crest sprouting from his head fall down in irregular feathers, fanning out into a display of pink and gold. His beak was serrated, and his bright pinkish eyes were striking. The Avian turned his slender neck and head to see who had arrived, and both Avians stood spellbound by one another.
An electric current raised the crests of both birds, forcing them upward against their will. On instinct, both Avians flared and puffed out their wings. Iruma lowered his neck while keeping his head level, while the stranger opened his serrated beak and released a sharp screech that sounded suspiciously like a perfect musical note. There was no hostility, no malice, only... chemistry. A connection they couldn't comprehend, pulling at them like a gravitational force from which they couldn't escape, locked in each other's gaze as if nothing else existed. Iruma swallowed hard and shyly smoothed down his crest with his right wing.
"Hello... I'm Iruma Sullivan, and I've been assigned to the Abnormal Class."
"Iruma... That is a beautiful name for an Avian as fascinating as you, if you'll pardon the compliment. My name is Asmodeus Alice, but you may simply call me Azz."
Iruma stepped closer and raised his right foot, palm turned upward as far as his ankle joint allowed. He extended his talons and smiled timidly. Alice looked at the gesture, then back at him, and mirrored it. Their talons fitted together, locking with a soft snap. Both looked at each other in surprise, but remembering Opera's lessons and not wanting to anger this majestic Avian, Iruma puffed up his feathers and carefully loosened the grip of his claws, which had instinctively interlocked.
"A pleasure, Azz... I hope we can get along."