"LET ME OUT!" A voice that wasn't Arthur's ripped from his throat as his body arched off the ground before he could stop it. Every muscle in his body sized at once--not the slow creeping of restraint, but of something violently trying to take over your body. His hands clawed at the stoned floor until they left deep grooves in them, his heels bleed as they scrapped into them.

Then a demon roar.

Miguel grabbed Arthur by the shoulders and held him down as he continued to convulse and snarl like a feral beast.

The other Archgrims didn't move. Not immediately.

They all just watched on like spectators as the corpse seemed to be engaged in a fierce battle within itself. But neither of them let their guard down, especially not Rhea whose Tessens were held in her hands again.

Natsu kept their distance. Although they'd had their reservations about the corpse, even they knew when to stay back when energy as dark as the one that came off Arthur right now was present. It was oppressive and made the hairs on the back of their neck raise as they watched on.

Five seconds of Arthur thrashing against the stone floor of the coliseum felt like a crawl in time while Miguel pushed back with everything, he had as the scar above Arthur's heart burned red enough to be visible through the cloak he wore.

"Hold him steady, Sloth!" Archibald, Archgrim of Pride, warned and Miguel shot him the most hateful of looks.

"You fucking bastard, I'd like to see you do a better job at this." Miguel snarled. He couldn't imagine just how Twilight has been able to control this demon by herself for this long. Somewhere down in the empty crevice where his heart should have been, he felt a new sense of respect for the Grim Reaper.

Then, all at once, there was stillness.

Arthur lay flat on his back staring up at the in complete and broken vaulted ceiling of the coliseum. His chest heaved. The red light faded from the scar slowly, like an ember cooling after being drenched in cold water, Miguel finally let out a long low breath as he pulled away from the corpse.

Arthur's eyes which had been clamped shot earlier finally opened very slowly as he blinked back the darkness that had threatened to consume him.

"Well." He exhaled with an airy chuckle leaving his lips as the hideous black veins that crawled over his body receded until they were faint lines on his pale skin. "That was uncomfortable."

Natsu let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob of relief. "The corpse said uncomfortable."

Miguel sat back on his heels and pressed one hand over the frown on his face. "Uncomfortable is an understatement."

Arthur pushed himself off the ground slowly. His movement smooth as he rolled his shoulders once, glad that he had control of his body again. Then with one hand, he reached up and pulled the hood back from his face and unwound the borrowed cloak that was soaked with sweat before tossing it aside without ceremony.

And for the first time since they arrived here together, the entire coliseum present got a proper look at the man before them.

No demon eyes. No patchy skin cracked in places. Just a smooth porcelain skin with a scar right above where his heart was. Rhea's arms slowly lowered when she got a proper look at Arthur.

The silence that followed had a slightly different quality to the silences that had come before it.

Arthur straightened to his full height. Fragmented eyes moving around the room with the unhurried assessment of someone cataloging his surroundings out of habit.

Rhea's Tessen closed and she took one step forward.

Archibald noticed. His own eyes cut to her sideways with an expression of profound distaste when he saw the familiar look of desire in her eyes.

As though sensing the sudden shift in the atmosphere again, he turned to the only other woman in this place. Those violet eyes met his without flinching and without any particular attempt to disguise what was in them, the woman's lips curled into a seductive smile. It was almost as though that fierce woman who'd tried to cut him down just moments earlier had somehow vanished.

"Well, well, well. You're actually easy on the eyes...for a corpse." She chuckled as she folded her arms underneath her chest.

"So much for first impressions." Arthur laughed quietly.