-Chapter: 8: Another life-

AN: Another chapter another week. This is one of the other things I was thinking about writing last time. I think I've decided, at least for now, that I'm going to alternate doing chapters in the six-sided world and ones about gods like Hitogami. I want to write about what's happening on the god end of thing but also show what's going on for Rudeus and Oldeus at the same time. I probably shouldn't be writing about so many different plot lines at the same time considering I'm not as skilled as I'd like to be but I'm gonna do it anyways! This way is more fun.

-Oldeus (Time-Travelling Rudeus) POV-

There was a scream. A very womanly scream. There was the comforting words of a male for every scream she gave. Things like, "Hang in there, honey!" and, "You can do this!" I had heard similar things before. Many times, before. Granted most of them are vague with how long ago they were. I heard the same screams when I was birthed and when Norn and Aisha came. Those are the ones I don't remember to well. The one I remember the best were Sylphy's when she was having Lucy. That brings back memories.

Back before I even knew Hitogami's true intentions I had heard those screams. Once Hitogami showed his true colors I never heard them again. I still wish I hadn't trusted Hitogami. If I had only… No. It's not good to go down this line of thought again. Besides, I used my power to go back and change things. Things will be different than back then. Right. That's all in the past. I wonder how younger me is doing. The last thing I remember is telling him about Hitogami's true intentions and what he needs to do. When I died, I thought that would be the end and I would have to trust everyone else to defeat Hitogami… I don't want to trust anyone again. It's unfair that I ever had to. Why couldn't humans just be like animals and keep things simple? We had to become more civilized to keep up with other races I suppose. That is not what's important. Stay focused, me.

Sigh… It appears that I've been reincarnated once again. This must be some kind of curse. I can't die, even if I wanted to die, I wouldn't be able to. Well… I guess I did die but I mean I can't be rid of this world. Is this why Hitogami messed with me? Were his true intentions just to see me suffer endlessly…? I guess I'm an endless source of entertainment for him. Well, I won't develop the kinds of relationships that Hitogami would abuse this time… Though I guess I do have a new set of parents. Should I just leave my parents from an early age? That could work. Neither of my parents will have developed a relationship with a newborn child, right? No. They'd probably be heartbroken if the child mom has been carrying for nine months left. I would've been sad if Lucy just up and left when she was born. Although… Why do I need to worry about this couple's happiness? I've killed people on a whim before, so I don't see why I should care at all. Well… there is one thing… I relate to their situation. They've done nothing wrong and have gone through a lot of effort like Sylphy had, I assume. Fine. I'll play along with your game Hitogami. That is if you're the one who's done this.

I was awoken from my thoughts by some growling. A pet? It doesn't sound like one. More person-like. Maybe someone is jealous about my parents' relationship? I could see that happening. It would be just like Eris. Before Roxy died many were jealous of me getting to not have one but two wives. How many parents do I have now? At a minimum there'll be two but there could be more. I doubt I'll have too many. Or maybe I'm born to some weird race that only requires one parent? That'd be weird. It doesn't matter to much I suppose. If I have a hundred parents then they won't feel very bad about losing one child, if I have one parent then I only hurt one person. That's just how things go, I suppose.

Another growl stops my train of thought. Seriously, what is that noise? I can't see that well yet but for some reason it's like I can feel it. Maybe I'm hungry? That could be it. I guess it's time for my meal? I've just been born though… are babies hungry right after being born? It could be something that occurs for whatever race I am now. I guess I should ask for food.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Job done. I'll probably be fed now. Ah, there it is. Food… It's been a while since I've fed like this.

"Grrrrrr…." I still hear it. Normally my hunger is quenched after eating something but that doesn't appear to be the case here. What is it then? I don't have much experience with babies but, well I do but it's been a while. Let me rephrase: I'm rusty in dealing with babies but I'm pretty sure babies don't have random growling, and I mean completely random, not because they need something, not because something bad happened, but for absolutely no reason at all. I think the growling is coming from me. Why would I be growling if not for food? I don't know. Maybe this is some kind of rare illness… Like Roxy's. Does it matter? Can my parents hear it? Normally, I would be able to tell but my senses aren't fully developed yet, as such I cannot tell. I suppose that when my senses develop more, I will be able to tell what is causing that noise. Maybe it's my imagination? It could be another effect of just being born. I don't remember anything like that happening in my last life but then again, I don't remember much of anything as most people don't remember being a baby. I think I remember a little bit more than most because my brain was… well, actually I don't think my brain itself was more mature as I was a baby. I wonder how memories are stored. If they're stored in the brain, then how did I retain my memory after reincarnation? If stored in the soul, if souls exist, then why do we lose memories as we grow older? An interesting thought. Unfortunately, I can't experiment on any of that. Not that I'd have an easy way if I was an adult either. 'Grrrr…' Again, with the growling. I'm gonna start getting annoyed if I have to deal with this.

'Hey! What the heck is that growling for!?' I shouted inwardly hoping for a placebo effect to work on me. Placebo effects are more effective than you would think.

To my surprise there was a response, 'I'm just a little angry that I was defeated alright!?' I was shocked to say the least. Someone else is inside my head? The heck? I could understand if Hitogami had done something weird to me, but I wouldn't expect him to make me join someone else in this new life. Or, just a thought, could this be the way things normally go? At least for reincarnation? Maybe my last life was unique, but still… a person in my head. It's like how Hitogami communicated with me. I was only able to block him right before my time travel with Orsted and Nesura's help. I should be friendly with Orsted in this life, he may not remember what happened if Nesura is correct, but he did still help me. Besides my debt we do both hate Hitogami so I don't see a real reason why we shouldn't work together. Fighting each other is just what Hitogami would want, and I hate doing what Hitogami wants. If we fight, we'll just be weakening each other so Hitogami can take us out individually. 'Grrrrrr…' That growling really annoys me but I'm guessing I should give this guy some space for the time being. When will he chill down? I think our parents are freaked out by me… Oh, I guess my eyesight is getting better if I can see that. Yeah, they're looking at me, er… us, with weird glares. They seem to be Superd like Ruijerd. Now that I can look around… It appears that we're in a turtle shell like at the Migurd Village. I suppose these houses are common on the demon continent. It makes sense, it only requires taking out one big turtle and taking its shell to wherever you want to live.

It also seems that someone is using my eye, the one in the middle of my forehead, to look around and get a lay of the land. It seems that there is a whole village of Superd here and I can sense everyone at once. It's a small village but it's still a whole stinking village of Superd. I should really tell Ruijerd about this place. He's probably still looking for more of his kind. Umm… my parents' glare is starting to freak me out. It's kind of scary to have someone like 20 times your size just stare at you in terror. I suppose they are justified; most babies don't growl like I've been. I'll try to stop growling; it is my body, so I do have some control over it even if someone else is here with me. Hopefully my parents will calm down now. They'll always know I'm a weird child… Oh, it also appears that I only have two parents. I guess most relationships are still between one man and one woman in this world. In the cases that there are more than two it gets expensive, so you'd need to be rich to support a family like that. I personally didn't have to worry too much on the finances of it all considering the absolute abomination of money I received from the teleportation labyrinth.

'Are you calmed down now?' I asked the annoying little growler. It had been a few minutes since he last growled so I was hoping he'd calmed down a little.

'Yeah… I just don't like dying. It's excruciatingly painful no matter how many times I go through it.' He replied scornfully. I probably shouldn't press him on the matter. Should I try to continue the conversation? My parents are still staring at me, not as bad but it does still feel bad to me. As a result, I want to focus on something else. Like a talk with whoever this is. I guess the first thing I should do is ask for his name with proper educate.

'I'm Rudeus Greyrat, what's your name?' I asked.

'I'm… I believe people call me the Demon God.' I was stunned into silence.