Slowly opening my eyes, I can only stand there in utter shock.
Wait... wait... just what is going on?
I am surrounded by a gel-like substance and cannot move at all. I should be dead, but did the devils managed to capture me and are using me for experiments?
Fuck, if that is so I would rather bite off my own tongue than helping them at all.
As I was thinking so I could suddenly vaguely hear someone talking... let me listen carefully. "...husband, our child is moving…" Following which, there was a vague male's voice, "Let me hear…"
Husband? Just what is going on? why are people speaking this?
Thinking to this point I start to access my situation, and the conclusion I reached isn't pleasant. Not at all.
I, somehow, have been reincarnated and am currently still in the belly of the woman who will be my mother.
I would fear that I might be reborn as some other race, but the abundance of demonic energy around me and the fact I am quite confident about the reason I can do what I did helps in keeping me grounded.
As I think of the thing, the reason why so much happened back then that forced me into hiding, I can only show a wry smile. It was not like I chose to obtain it, I just did.
But, I suppose having one of the Four Original Satans devil god seed inside me and refusing to join either side really made me a thorn on everyone's side.
Of the four Devil God Seeds, the items that can help a devil break through the Ultimate Class into Super Class, one went to Ajuka (Asmodeus), one for Ryzevin (Beelzebub), one for Syrzechs (Leviathan), and the last one for me (Lucifer). Each carry a special attribute and unique powers, for instance, the Leviathan increase the pure might of someone to well beyond the regular limit and helped make the Power of Destruction from Syrzechs stronger. Asmodeus makes it that one's desires become reality much easier, which would explain how he had started creating so many things after he got his seed. Ryzevin's seed of Beelzebub should have the power to negate God's blessings but how exactly it works with that particular piece of shit I have no idea.
Finally, mine own, Lucifer, was a power that was pretty much useless to me at the time since I had so little time before being killed, the power of evolving devil traits. It is the power to take all basic devil skills to the next level, something that matched all too well with the Vine House Trait of control in which we had an unnatural amount of control over our demonic power.
If for other houses or devils their power was ferocious and hard to control, depends more on brute strength than anything else and even the 'genius' Syrzechs could only at most control with some precision his Power of Destruction, my clan could create even fine threads of pure demonic energy or create magic attacks with little to no waste of power.
We were never the strongest clan, but any member of my clan could last on a fight twice as long as those of other clans easily and with power to spare.
I am not even sure if that is all Lucifer Devil God Seed could do or what effects it would have had should I have survived, but I guess I will find out. There is a good reason why, even though he was once an angel before getting this seed, Lucifer still turned into the strongest of all devils.
Perhaps this was why the two factions could not risk me, someone who was already a genius of a clan famed for their fine control, to have the power of evolution of Lucifer and not be affiliated must have been far too large a threat. Also, the simple fact that the seed of Lucifer, the leader of all devils, chose me and none of either of their camps must have stung something fierce as well.
Well, tough luck for them. If I am still in the same world I lived on before I will surely ensure that they will suffer for what they have done.
The Old Satan Faction, our 'allies' left my clan to die only because I refused to go and bend to their every whim and help them on their crazy plan of continuing the war while they themselves stood on the back to 'command'. A bunch of cowards, even on the apex of the war they did not come to the fight and only waited for their precious Satans and the Low Class to do everything for them while they feasted.
And as for the New Satan Faction, I do admit that they have some good ideals, especially the stoping of the war and improving the situation for our whole race, but this and the reality are not the same. While some of their members do fight, most of their true leaders are no better than the Old Satan Faction and only are on this faction because their holdings were in danger if the war continued.
It doesn't help overly much that most of the territories and riches of the clans who blead and died during the war, clans that still had branch members very much alive, had everything taken and given to those of the New Satan Faction to make them even richer. Heck, the greed of some of their members, especially of that damned Bael, is such that I had found out they intentionally let many settlements and armies of other clans close to his lands into traps, giving information for our enemies, only to, after the war, take over their lands and things.
I am disgusted by this. Is this what my clan, my family and friends, fought, bleed, killed, and died for? All to be given for some ass who spent most of the war on the back, not once going for the thick of it and even when pursuing me only appearing at the very end and never even trying to engage.
Sigh, life is just so unfair. Thinking so I suddenly feel something inside me.
It, it still is on me? The power of Lucifer, I still carry it!
If I do still have it then I am sure I still am a devil, no other race can carry this power. I smile, if I am still to be born then this is a chance I cannot fail to use and abuse, the power of Lucifer, the power of Evolution of the devil traits, how much would it change me if I have it since this point on?
How much would it change me if I evolve all my being since before I am even properly born?
Oh, this will be great!
As time went on I could sense my mind growing and improving, my body changing constantly as if different sources and aspects were warring against each other for dominance over my looks and body.
I noticed that because I seem to still carry the Vine House Trait despite my clan having been decimated so long ago. Thanks to my fine control over demonic power I can sense how it is changing inside me. The power of Evolution from Lucifer Demon God Seed changing my power and I can sense different types of power surging forward.
Perhaps the power of Lucifer is awakening the different devil house bloodlines that I carry on my body. It would make sense, I suppose, since most devils have mixed blood amongst their houses even if normally only one dominant aspect would come forward during birth.
As I left these changes happen (I can't really change anything regarding them since I can't really do much right now) I recount what I have heard until this point.
I have heard multiple conversations while inside my mother's belly by now and am confident I am the son of the oaf of Balam.
Honestly, I would probably laugh or cry if I could right now just by thinking such thing. Amongst all possible devil families, I had to be the son of the stupid oaf, it must be some sort of cosmic joke for sure.
My 'father' is someone I knew well enough. He was probably the stupidest sack of shit that I have ever met, and I knew Ryzevin for fuck's sake. He was the type that knew how to fight, sure, but his idea of diplomacy is showing off his muscles and asking if his opponent surrender only to be shocked if they don't. He is someone who, more than once, went right into an obvious enemy trap during the Great War WHILE BEING WARNED that it WAS a trap.
At least he was loyal to a fault, more than once taking attacks aimed at his subordinates on himself instead, but when asked why not just push his allies out of the path of the attack instead of taking it for them every time he would just laugh embarrassedly, scratch his head, and admit he had not thought once in doing that.
So yeah, I am the son of an oaf.
Well, that at least leaves me with some ideas. I intend to first see how the world is, but I cannot risk drawing attention to me at all. I want myself to go as unnoticed as possible, I committed far too many mistakes in my past life and I do not intend to make the same mistakes again, and my very first mistake was being considered a genius.
Seriously, if not for me being seen as a genius I wouldn't have attracted so much attention to my house nor would I have entered the Great Wat so young. Being looked up to does not open doors, it only constricts you. What open doors exist open for power and influence, being a prospect powerful person only makes others want to control your path.
I also think about what other actions I should take and even begin to think on ways to extract my revenge without damaging my race as much as possible. It is a slow process, trying to figure things out and speculate what I should do, but there isn't really all that much I can do for now.
After a long time, Kou finally could sense the walls around him start to shake and push. As he sensed that he began to concentrate on a very important task. Focusing his energy he began to try and make things easier for his mother and himself for this birth. It seems that due to the Lucifer Devil King Seed he was much bigger than normal babies and he felt fear that he might injure his mother should he not do so.
As time passed Kou felt as though he had almost expended all of his energy and almost passed out from exhaustion, the energy to keep his mother's body from being injured from birth greater than he originally expected, meanwhile his mother was also letting out cries of pain. Finally, as one we worked together, and as the light finally could be seen Kou heard an excited cry, "It's out, the child is out! Satans, he's huge!" Following which, I finally could relax as I thought.
'Satans, I am finally born! I am really... so tired! Just so tired.' Then, he nearly lost consciousness and almost fell asleep then and there.
In the delivery room, the midwife wiped her face full of sweat and looked at the infant which was just born. Then, she took a cold breath as she thought to herself, 'Satans gracious me, this child is huge! So heavy! I'm afraid he is at least five quilos and a half, maybe even six!'
She then looked towards the young almost unconscious mother lying on the bed with a sense of lingering fear.
"Great news, Lady Balam you have a healthy son!" The midwife said and turned me to Kou's mother. She was pretty with long viridescent green hair with some white streaks on her head and the tips of her hair turning from green to yellow at the tips.
Looking at that slender body and beautiful face, the midwife couldn't help but think, 'Such a large child and such a delicate mother. Both mother and child could actually be born safely. It is really a miracle nothing happened!'
"Give me my child, I want to see him." She said with tears of happiness in her eyes and the midwife went to do just that when the wall of the room basically exploded as the oaf came charging in. Behind him two others entered almost in sequence.
The first one was a 2.3 meters tall man with a square face and sharp eyebrows. His body with some rocky aspects to it and clearly with a rounder belly than he had during the war, but with one glance Kou could tell it was the same men he remembers from his previous life. Before he liked showing off a strong front of power and influence, a certain prestige so to say, but right now, that face was filled with anxiousness, worry, and tenderness. The moment he entered the delivery room, he rushed to the side of the young mother and asked with concern,
"Darling, are you alright?"
Kou who was wrapped up in swaddling clothes was calmly staring at this whole scene. Then, he suddenly felt his nose itch and involuntarily let out a large sneeze. In his mind, he berated his father for being so sweaty like that when entering this place and clearly not using even a deodorant spell beforehand.
He stinks, is what Kou could think at this moment. The next moment, he heard someone laughingly scold him, "This little fellow, there isn't anything wrong when someone else carries him. But when I carry him, he actually sprayed me a face full of mucus! Haha…" There was no anger in the voice but only delight, pride, and more importantly, satisfaction and gratitude!
It was as though it was a great pride and honor for him to be sprayed a face full of mucus and saliva by his own son. Seeing this look Kou felt like sighing in frustration as the man held him close and he had to smell that abominable smell up close.
Finally, someone had the good sense to take Kou away from that Oaf, but instead of being given to his mother who smelled nice he was presented to the other male there, this one at 2,2 meters tall with a face much like his son and with a few scars on his face which made his silly smile seem even more disturbing and ugly.
"My grandchild, just look at you. You have so little rock on you, I am sure you will be a talent like none other and I will finally be able to show off to that damned Zekran who likes to show off that his grandson is Lord Lucifer now. Hehe, you will certainly be great at this. My little diamond." He said as he poked the center of Kou's forehead, but Kou was no longer paying attention to this.
Instead, he was more worried about the mention that Syrzechs was now Lucifer, the one who should have control over the future of the devil race. Syrzechs, a man who was led by his emotions more often than not and could likely put the benefits and well being of the whole race in jeopardy if it is for his family.
And it was especially troubling since Syrzechs was the grandson of Zekran, the influence of that damned traitor of the race would certainly be far too strong if that was so and his crimes against the race likely pushed under the rug.
Looking up Kou paid attention to the Clan Head of the Balam Family, someone he knew from his previous life and with a sigh he realized that this was no different to the person in his impression, laughing like an idiot! Kou could not help but despise him in his heart as he revealed a smile, thinking that if not for his wife this family would likely have died right at the start of the war. The man was a nice buddy to drink a beer, but much like his son, the two were followers, not cut out to be leaders or think ahead in the slightest.
"Wahahaha! Look, he is smiling! My grandson is smiling! Hahaha! He is indeed my grandson, smiling the moment he sees his grandfather! Wahaha…" The old man laughed until his saliva began to spit all over with most of it landing on Kou's face. Kou was completely speechless as he felt his face getting wet with saliva, he even began to wonder if he should cry if only to make someone else how him but he feared if this man would keep yelling and the first drink of Kou's life would not be milk as he preferred.
In his mind he could only scold, 'Just laugh if you want, but is there a need to give me free rain?'
"Darn old man, you're going crazy again! What if you scare my grandson with your loud voice? Aiyah, look at your thick and clumsy hands, how will you be able to hold the child? You are not good, not good at all to take care of a child. Go and play with your sticks, hammers, or whatever. Come, give him to me, give him to me. Mmm, good grandson, let granny hug you. Hahaha, look at how handsome he is. These small eyes and nose are exactly the same as his father's…" By the side, a kind-looking lady snatched Kou over and hugged him like a treasured darling.
Could finally smile in relief, he finally found the one person here he knew had the right ambition and intelligence to be of great use for him in the days to come.
"So? What should we name him?"
"How about Kou? Kou Balam!" The oaf father of Kou said and Kou felt like this was a terrible idea, just terrible.
"Are you an idiot? Did I raise such a simpleton that can't even put the two brain cells in that empty head of yours to work?" Kou's grandmother said. "Kou is the name of the Vine Demon, even if his name was erased from all registry many still remember him and they know our Balam clan was close to the Vine. If we name him Kou it can only lead to bad results!"
"But I want to name my son for my best friend at all times!" Kou's father said childishly and Kou rolled his eyes at that. He never, not even once, agreed to be friends with his idiot. He was just the only one that could stand his presence when he began to speak nonsense by going through the old technique of sounding interested while not paying any sort of attention whatsoever. That this man had committed so many mistakes during the whole war and Kou, as a member of the same squad, had to save this idiot many times over of his own idiocy only served to annoy Kou further.
Kou's grandmother wanted to argue more but in the end, the name was decided when Kou's mother agreed to the suggestion of her husband.
Thus Kou's name would remain the same and Kou would have to be extra sure to not be taken seriously or paid attention to now, especially if his name were to remain the same. But, in all honesty, Kou rather enjoyed still having the same name.