Chapter: The Apathetic Heir
Chapter: 02
(The Devils Awakening)
My eyes fluttered open slowly, blinking a few times to adjust. My brain caught up to my actions and slowly, i took in my surroundings with a hint of curiosity, my memories from the previous turn of events coming back to me.
I had died.
So, that wasn't a dream?
I brought my hand up to my face and examined it while I sat up. I quickly realised I was in what appeared to be an extremely comfortable but spacious bed. The soft frantic below me was far better than what I had been accustomed to waking up to.
It was built luxuriously, with golden carvings adorning the sides and a large golden blanket surrounding my body. It was also unbelievably comfortable, unlike any I had ever slept in before.
The sheer softness it had made me lie back down, and for a brief moment, I savoured its warmth, luxuriating in the sheer comfort it offered. I let out a small sigh of satisfaction.
I guess I hadn't gone crazy after all. I doubted I could afford a bed like this even if I saved up for a few years. This was a bed that belonged to royalty.
In the next moment I could feel something new within my body, apart from the fact that all the minor aches and the weariness my old frail human body had suffered was absent. Replaced by power.
There was also the feeling of chaotic energy in my chest which I assumed was my demonic power. It felt oddly comforting. Like it was ready to rush to my defence at a moment's notice.
Skill Gained
[Appraisal] (Passive)
[Allows the user to gain insightful information about their targets, as well as discern their power level and rank.]
Skill Gained
[Lucifer Bloodline] (Passive) {Legendary}
You possess the legendary bloodline of The first Devil and the previous favourite son of god, The bloodline of Lucifer the devil and king of all devils himself.
With this legendary bloodline, you gain the following benefits.
You gain multiple pairs of wings – to be distinguished from normal devils.
Larger than normal demonic power reserves – increases your starting energy pool
Devilish charisma – as the descendant of the most beautiful Archangel, you must look the part. You gain an extra 100 Charisma.
Devil's whisper - as the son of The Devil himself, your words are more believable
?
Skill gained
[Darklight] (Lvl: 0/25) {Novice}
The signature bloodline ability of the Lucifer house was created by Lucifer himself after he fell and forsook his light in spite of God. It is a mix of light which was corrupted by darkness and behaves like both while having animation properties allowing it to "destroy" any magical ability that is of equal or lower strength than the user.
[Passive effect: 5% cost reduction]
My eyes lazily scanned over the various notifications popping up. I didn't rush, if this truly wasn't a dream than I was a Devil. I had thousands of years. Not that I would allow that to make me any less progressive.
It didn't afford me extra time spent enjoying this comfortable bed though.
So…
I was a part of the Lucifer household? I had to admit I had been extremely surprised to see my surname on my status screen. The same bloodline as the prince of darkness himself.
That dark light ability looked extremely powerful too. It was handy and made the small bit of dissatisfaction at not getting something better than Lava Manipulation disappear.
I had anticipated receiving something decent, maybe the Gremory or Sitri bloodline, or even, with some luck, the Bael bloodline, but landing the strongest and most prohibitively expensive bloodline was an admitted shock.
[Yes, indeed your luck has astounded even me, even now, I don't think you realise how low of a possibility of gaining the Lucifer bloodline was.]
I shrugged with a lazy grin. It's about time something goes my way.
"Status," I called out.
The system had already downloaded the information on how to use it in my brain. There was no need for a tutorial.
[Name: Raziel Lucifer
Race: Pureblood Devil
Level: 1
Physique: 20
Spirit: 30
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 310
Luck: 50
Stat points: 0]
The lazy grin spread even further across my face as I glanced at my stats. I was assuming that my Spirit was enhanced by twenty because of my bloodline.
Perhaps ten for being a devil and another ten for being a Lucifer?
For a newcomer to this world, it felt like a pretty solid start.
I doubted it was anything too special since I was level one but the extra boost in physique and Spirit was promising.
On top of the fact I had the Magic chosen perk but keeping my expectations low had never hurt. My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by my inner monologue as the sound of a door opening slowly caught my attention.
Turning my gaze over to where a pair of large luxurious double doors were opened.
Trying to contain my mild surprise at the new arrival, my eyes widened as at the entrance of the doorway appeared a young but unimaginable beauty calmly walked in with a tray holding a cup of steaming tea.
She was adorned in an expensive-looking maid's dress that seemed to hug her curves nicely, her silky braided silver hair cascaded down her back as bright silver eyes that radiated pure adoration locked onto my prone form.
Her skin complexion was flawless without any blemishes, and her body could make any woman die from envy with an hourglass figure complemented by ample curves. She wore a small smile as she came closer to me.
'Appraisal'
Name: Gremailia Lucifuge
Title: Super Maid
Level - 189
Race - Devil
"…"
Ok, either I had a lot of catching up to do or she was really fucking strong. Considering I was of the Lucifer bloodline and she was a lucifuge I was more inclined to believe that she was monstrously strong.
"My Lord?" Her soft voice called out coldly as she laid the tray next to my bed on the table side.
Hold on a second, weren't all the Lucifuge except Grayfia meant to be wiped out in canon? Why is she still alive… was it to do with my heritage being that of a Lucifer?
"Are you feeling okay?" She asked as she stood beside my large bed.
I observed her for a second.
"I'm fine Gremalia, thank you," I replied more as a probe as to what our relationship status was. I know I was her master but what type of relationship we had was a different matter.
Gremalia's eyes bore into me.
"My Lord, please don't call me that. You know I had that cursed name. Please refer to me as Mai." She said professionally.
I went to reply only to clutch my head in a sharp pain like someone just stabbed my head and assaulted me. I ignored the worried protests from the-my maid for the moment as I tried to sort through the memories.
Sighing, I let my head fall on my pillow as I saw Gremalia in her glory practically climb on top of me as she looked over me in slight panic.
That had been… unpleasant to say the least.
The process of getting an entire fourteen years of memories that didn't belong to me wasn't something I would like to go through again.
Looking back into the silver worried eyes of Gremalia I rubbed my head and sat back up, briefly glancing down as she was practically smashing her large chest against me.
Was she doing that on purpose?
"My Lord, are you okay?" She asked again, seemingly unconcerned with our close proximity.
Waving off her concerns after taking a deep breath to gather my scattered thoughts, I nodded and gave her a small smile at her concern for my health. Sadly, enough, this may be the first time someone has shown any sort of care for my well-being.
Ah well, I wasn't going to mope about it.
Getting up from my unbearably comfortable bed, I looked down and I noticed I was dressed in a comfortable silk robe that fit me perfectly and felt more comfy than any clothes I had used back in my old life.
I turned to a steaming cup of tea on the tray left beside my large bed. Carefully picking up the teacup, I took a sip as Gremalia got back up with a small blush.
She seemed to have realised how close we had been just a few moments ago now that she had gotten over her concern. Taking a few sips I had to admit, this was some good fucking tea.
Without a doubt the best I had ever drunk. Not that it was some high bar but it was nice regardless.
Alright, that's enough lazing about, it wouldn't do any good for me to turn into some sort of sloth devil. Gremalia quickly came to my side.
"My Lord. breakfast will be ready in an hour, is there anything you need?" She asked.
"No, that will be all for now," I replied calmly.
I needed to check some things out. Mainly testing out something I was actually pretty excited about. Magic.
Wasn't it every man's dream to blow shit up and escape the desperate reality of a shitty 9-5 job? My body may have felt intense pain when getting crushed by that car, but it was nothing compared to being bitched at by my manager.
She gave me a small nod before hesitantly leaving, but not before shooting me one last concerned glance. It seemed she truly cared about me, which I already knew from the many memories circling my thoughts.
Ah, finally I had some time to think. I quickly brought up the system interface as I saw the menu. Clicking on my inventory out of curiosity, I was pleasantly surprised to see a box-labelled starter pack.
Opening it, I was greeted with a message.
Congratulations on becoming a gamer!
You have gained the skill.
[Dungeon Gate] [Lvl: 0/25] {Novice}
Dungeon gate lets the user create a gate into a dungeon of any available. This skill levels up by making progress via the dungeon.
My eyes scanned over the skill description. This would be extremely useful, since I doubt I could just go around killing things without any notice. Unless they were strays, but they weren't enough for stable growth.
Glancing around my large room, I went over and took a seat on the large couch as I continued looking through the system interface.
I had been tempted to go into a dungeon now, but going in completely unprepared without having even tested my powers out to the extent I could actually defend myself somewhat adequately would be the height of idiocy.
I did want to test my dark light and lava manipulation at some point, since who wouldn't want to use magic? Especially magic directly from Satan himself. Well, probably not any believers of god.
Now, while I love these comfortable robes I needed some actual clothing. Rising from the surprisingly comfortable couch, I moved towards the intricately designed wardrobe.
As I opened the large wooden wardrobe, my expectations had been correct as I was met with an array of formal, old-fashioned attire. Mainly consisting of suits and an assortment of clothing befitting a noble.
My memories had been correct then, I was at least hoping for some casual, comfortable clothes, but it seems my hopes weren't to be met.
Checking through the various pieces of clothing, I looked for the most comfortable set, a casual buttoned-up shirt with a loose-fitting silver suit and a pair of comfortable silver trousers that matched with the suit.
Quickly putting them on, I stretched a few times and noticed they felt oddly pleasant to be in. I had worn suits before, but they had always been cheap and extremely uncomfortable, which is why I preferred casual clothing.
This suit didn't restrict my movement at all and felt amazing against my skin.
Now looking at the expensive suit that probably costs more than my previous life could ever hope to even make one percent of. It almost felt wrong to wear something so expensive-looking.
Noticing a large mirror near the wardrobe, I walked up to it and took this time to look at my new appearance. To say I was surprised would be an understatement.
There staring back at me with raven black hair was a boy who looked to be around fifteen years old. I knew from my memories that I was fourteen years old in this body. I had, what could be considered for my age, an extremely handsome appearance that made my old look seem like an ugly gremlin compared to the pure perfection I saw.
The only thing was my body, which seemed to be a bit slim but still could be considered extremely healthy. My eyes were the most noticeable of my appearance.
With the lower half bright yellow, the middle part of my eyes was a beautiful sunset colour, transitioning into purple like the night sky. My eyes seemed to have a piercing effect which made them gorgeous.
They seemed to match perfectly with my pitch-black raven hair and my perfect facial structure. The suit looked excellent on me, but I doubted anything wouldn't with my extremely high charisma stat.
Hold on… didn't the Lucifer bloodline have silver hair? Maybe I took after my mother's side, whoever that was. Something to look into at a later date.
Ok, that was enough self-appreciation for today, I really wanted to go try out magic, and I needed to find a suitable place to practise undisturbed.
I walked out of my room and wandered around the large, magnificent but mostly desolate hallways, I had to admit. While I was aware, I would be receiving a castle due to my selection of the hidden castle. I hadn't expected it to be this massive.
I had been walking around these large halls for a good while now, each corridor was meticulously designed with the same lush red carpets along with numerous paintings and items for display as a show of obvious prestige.
Large clear windows lit up the various hallways with a view of a beautifully kept garden sprawling with wildlife and various flowers of different colours kept in a chaotic but neat environment.
Admittedly, when purchasing the hidden castle option I had expected a cold fortress of a castle that would need to be filled with furniture by myself, but it seemed it had already been taking care of me.
The lack of any other people in the castle matched with my memories of there only being my maid Gremalia and a butler.
You would expect the large castle to be messy due to a lack of staff, but despite that, the castle seemed almost too clean without a spec of dirt to be seen.
Overall, the castle was beyond even what a royal should possess, but I wasn't one to complain. It was certainly better than the shabby little apartment I could barely afford and had to miss a few meals over by far.
Now if I could only find a way out of this gigantic castle, that would be nice. Trying to search my memories for a clue, I sighed, turns out the previous occupant of this body seemed to be more focused on the library section rather than any sort of training.
Finally, after ten minutes, I found a way out, in the form of a large pair of doors leading out to a massive courtyard with plenty of space to fit multiple football stadiums.
Seriously, what was the point of all this space?
If it wasn't for the large what seemed to be a running track that outlined around the whole courtyard, it would look pretty improper. Ah, I supposed this would do. Not as private as I would have liked, but it'll do fine for a simple test.
I made my way into the middle of the courtyard to gain more space for my tests, since it wouldn't be good if I accidentally blew up part of my castle.
Judging the amount of time I had been walking around, I should have around twenty minutes before breakfast, so I better get started, I gave a small grin of excitement. Firstly, something simple.
Rubbing my hands together, I raised my hand and pulled on the chaotic mass of energy begging to be used within me. Just as I expected it would. It instantly rushed out and I had to restrain the amount that came out.
A ball of scorching hot red magma formed in my hand, the heat didn't damage my skin despite the close proximity. I stared at the unnaturally hot lava swirling in my hand, almost in a daze.
I launched it towards the wall, watching as it impacted and made a small explosion of red-hot fire.
Magma sprayed everywhere, enveloping the ground around the target in its scorching embrace. The puddle of lava bubbled as I looked at what was meant to be a simple lava ball in morbid fascination.
I had expected lava, but this had been beyond my expectations. I should have expected that lava born from what was probably demonic energy would be different from normal lava.
From what I saw it seemed to be much hotter and somehow more aggressive if that made sense, it had immediately sprayed as far as it could and began devouring what it could reach with an almost hungry fury.
That was the only way I could describe what was a ball of lava double the size of a basketball as it almost exploded and began devouring everything. The courtyard was silent save for the hissing of the demonic lava.
Lava manipulation has levelled up
To think this was only at the novice rank. I'm guessing the more I rank it up the more it gains in power and control since I had felt my control was extremely limited on the ball of magma I had fired.
Thinking of another use, I opened my hand and formed more magma but instead of firing the magma. I commanded it to spread all over my hand. The magma obeyed if not extremely slowly as I carefully manoeuvred it.
When it spread over my fist I commanded the heat out of it and watched as the magma started cooling. What was left was an extremely hard black rock covering my hand like a glove.
It was uneven and obviously weaker in some places due to my lack of control, but I grinned at the possibilities of utilising this. Slamming my fist in the ground, small cracks appeared and I winced at the force my fist hand experienced.
A working progress, perhaps I can use magma to soften the recoil?
To think this was only at the novice rank. I'm guessing the more I rank it up the more it gains in power and control since I had felt my control was extremely limited on the ball of magma I had fired.
Raising my palm towards the sky, I summoned another ball, but this time tried to exert more control over it than I had previously with the other ball of lava. It slowly shifted for a second before stopping.
It seems I could only control it to move when it was in contact with my body.
I gave up after a few minutes of nonstop trying, I launched the ball at the same spot as I had with the other one. The ball exploded mirroring what had happened with the previous ball of lava.
Lava manipulation has levelled up x2
For the next fifteen minutes, I practised with my lava manipulation and came up with different ways to try to weaponise the lava, with only some success due to my low rank on the skill.
I had made a decent amount of progress at least.
Lava manipulation has levelled up x6
I had made over nine levels in twenty minutes, which, I think, was pretty good progress. I had originally thought that levelling seemed pretty easy until I remembered my magical prodigy perk. Which gave me a 3x boost.
I was glad I had gotten that perk since it had saved me a lot of work, something I didn't really want to put in.
Say what you want, but I had been working hard my whole life for a goal that now I realise would have never been reached. With that in mind, I would take all opportunities to do less work than I could.
A screen appeared.
Through intense magical excursion and magical control, you have gained.
1 MAG Gained
I raised an eyebrow, so I could train up stats as well. That was interesting. I felt my demonic power reserves.
It was good I could sense how much demonic energy I had used, it gave me an idea of how long I could fight and in what capacity. I would need to improve my mana soon.
I was brought out of my muses as the clearing of a throat caught my attention and made me turn around to see a handsome middle-aged man who was dressed up in what could only be called classic butler attire.
'Appraisal'
Name: Lucius Zechariah
Title: Right Hand of Lucifer
Level - 212
Race - Devil
So this must be the legendary butler, and he's stronger than Gremalia. Then again I suppose that makes sense. What was up with that title, though? The right hand of Lucifer? No wonder he's so strong.
"Ehm, young lord. Your breakfast is now ready." He calmly stated in a kind tone but with an underlying ruthlessness that instantly made me slightly relieved I wasn't this man's enemy.
It was hard to explain, I just somehow knew this guy was a killer. He obviously wasn't hostile to me but there was a coldness and over-protectiveness in his eyes that gave me pause.
It wasn't like I was afraid since honestly, I didn't know if I could be afraid anymore, but I knew this man was one of the people you just didn't wish to have as an enemy, even if you are stronger than him, he's the type that would still find a way to be a thorn in your side.
"Oh, I see, thank you, Lucius," I said with a slight huff of exertion. I had a thin sheen of sweat on my forehead from all the mana usage and the sheer heat. Though Gerald seemed unbothered by it.
I saw his eyes narrow by a minuscule margin as his eyes flickered towards the large pool of cooling lava before his eyes flickered back to my form as he did a quick inspection of my state. His lips thinned into a small frown.
"Young lord. Is there any reason you've decided to start… practising with your demonic energy?" He said, and heard a grain of concern seep into his kind tone.
"Ah, no reason, I just thought it was prudent to actually start training for the uh future," I said, which was technically true.
"Hmm, I've never seen you take an interest in magical studies before, and I don't think I remember you ever having the ability to control lava." He said with a raised eyebrow, I went to answer, but he spoke before I could.
"I can tell it's not generated via the devil imagination magic system, since that wouldn't be even a quarter as potent for quadrupling the price of mana output I sensed." He concluded.
Of course, he sensed the demonic mana output of my practice, wait, why am I even bothering with stressing about this? I gave him an uncaring shrug. He was pretty smart, I had to admit.
"I've had it for a while now, just haven't been interested in practising with it until as of late," I replied with a shrug. I didn't need to explain myself if I didn't wish to.
He looked thoughtful and even more concerned, but ultimately he didn't push the subject as he noticed my strange attitude. I wasn't bothering to try to hide my personality change.
From my memories, only Gremalia and Lucius knew me anyway. Perhaps that was stupid to many but hiding it would just prolong the inevitable. This way I could control the outcome and when they inevitably question me I'll have an answer.
"Very well young lord, I will implore that you remember me and… Gremalia are both at your service. Merely ask and it shall be done." He said with a bow.
I looked thoughtful before nodding as he began to lead me towards the dining hall, where presumably my breakfast awaited me. I admit I was pretty hungry. I let a small grin across my face at the royal-like treatment.
I could definitely get used to this.
We arrived in a large dining hall, where Gremalia or Mai stood beside a large king-like throne at the end of the long table. I saw her glare at Lucius briefly who simply turned up his nose at her.
Despite being so old they could be rather childish couldn't they?
I was led over to the king-like chair where a large buffet was waiting for me. The aroma nearly made me salivate. This wasn't food humans ate. I sat down and ignored the little glaring contest between butler and maid.
The food welcomed me and I obliged.
Eating the admittedly delicious breakfast, which was made from a creature that didn't exist on earth. I looked at the side of the long dining table as I ate in the royal dining chamber, with a large picture of a man with raven hair sitting on a throne.
Gremalia and Lucius stood at attention beside me as they whispered a quiet conversation to each other.
I wasn't used to eating with people around me. It almost made me feel a bit awkward since I normally stuffed my breakfast down my throat in a mad rush to get to my shitty job on time. They loved deducting pay for any late arrival. Assholes.
Sitting down now with all the time in the world, with a maid and butler waiting to bid me anything I wished, felt surreal.
I planned to continue training with magic after this, since Gremalia wasn't teaching me today. Apparently, they had taken it upon themselves to give me lessons on everything important.
My mana should be regenerating so I didn't rush as I ate, I knew it would take a while to regenerate completely. I wanted to go into the dungeon but I needed to get used to practising with my lava manipulation more before I took on any danger.
Glancing down at my plate I realised I had finished all the food. Was that even possible? There had been enough for a few people.
I must have really been lost in my thoughts if I had just eaten all that delicious food without realising it. I let out a sigh of contentment at my full stomach, I got up as Gremalia and Lucius both turned towards me.
"Are you done with your meal master?" Gremalia asked with a cute head tilt, not befitting of a beautiful regal lady you would expect from her. Especially with how cold her facial expression was.
I flashed her a small smile.
"Yes, thank you for the meal. It was quite delicious." I replied sincerely, as she looked surprised at my admission, giving me a weird look before shaking her head and moving to clean up. She took plates back to wherever the kitchen was.
"Any plans for today, young lord?" Lucius asked dutifully. I went to reply before giving some brief thought.
"I plan to relax for a while, perhaps take a look through the library and wait until my demonic energy has recovered. There is something you can do for me. I need a place to train properly." I explained, adding the order to the end.
"Would you be willing to transform the courtyard into a training area?"
Lucius looked slightly confused at my request and attitude but nodded nonetheless. I could tell he was wondering what my change in behaviour could be from.
Since the other Raziel was quiet, it could be seen as puberty making me change and become more confident in what I wanted. Though, my dampened emotions would be harder to explain.
Now with Gremalia cleaning and Lucius going to set up the courtyard, I only had one thing on my mind.
How was I going to find my way around this massive castle?
-END-