-?-
The moment I opened my eyes, all I saw was darkness.
Numerous numbers, trails of them. Kinda like those hacker man memes of flowing strings of texts and numerals, endlessly streaming in a field of—No.
There was something else.
I couldn't properly decipher it, but it felt like I was floating helplessly through a stormy deep, massive ocean of the colour green, and I could do nothing but let it shake my body. I would have been terrified if it was not simultaneously making me feel safe at the same time.
Pain lances through my core. A myriad of sensations-, nay, emotions. They were swelling up inside my heart.
It hurts…
…Where am I?
What happened? The last thing I remember was…
What was I doing?
It took me a long while to recall, I was on my way to a party for my friend's marriage.
But other than that, everything felt like a missing puzzle glitching inside my head.
It's like… Like it happened a week ago, but I don't remember falling asleep at all.
I didn't get into an accident, did I? This pain, It's not from that, right?
Questions continued swirling around my mind. Alongside it, the pain in my chest grew. It felt hot, but not fatal. All the while, those numbers I could see were now circling me.
'What… what is with these numbers?'
I pondered inside my mind while trying to move, only to realise that I was unable to do so. A sense of panic quickly seized my heart. I quickly scanned my surroundings, hoping to get some information. Only then did I realise that I was floating aloft amidst fluids and bubbles.
'Wait, bubbles—?'
I inhaled. Or rather, I realised I could inhale as I felt something heavy move instead of the air. More bubbles sprouted all around me. Partnered with my powerlessness in floating uncontrollably,
'Was I floating in this water…?
"Oh? You're awake," A foreign voice echoed in my head. "I thought you'd already died and would be subject for disposal. Strange indeed, the readings said you died. Was it wrong?"
I hear a tap on a glass surface. Alongside it was a thumping echo, like the sound of water rippling in a jar. Weakly turning my eyes in that direction, I noticed something attached to my face trailing to the endless bottom.
I still couldn't see well, but from below, something akin to a tube was attached to my face. I tried grasping it, but my hands wouldn't even budge. But if it was attached to my mouth and I wasn't suffocating, then it might've been my lifeline in this mysterious place.
At least, that's how my addled mind interpreted the strange tubular device in my mouth.
'That must be how I can breathe inside this green-coloured liquid. Wait hold the phone! I'm in a pod filled with a kind of green liquid connected to a breathing apparatus, with a raging uncontrollable ocean of green! Am I Broly? The biggest of cheats, the Legendary Super Saiyan?!'
"Hm… If you're still functioning, then it seems we can continue as usual. Here. Feeding time."
I hear the stranger's indifferent voice mumble through the glass. How I could tell it was glass was due to my adjusting eyes now making out a warped visage beyond the bubbly fluids I was floating in.
Suddenly, I hear whirring. From the device which covered my mouth, I then sensed a foreign liquid slowly being poured through it and straight into my throat. I could tell it was my throat when the rearmost bits of my taste buds immediately recognized something to taste.
And despite the soury-sweetness that would've made me puke any other day, my weak self greedily devoured the off-putting flavoured mush.
"Subject shows a sudden increase in appetite. Any previous debilitating status is absent. The subject also shows no more abnormal fluctuation of Demonic Power. Heartbeat, normal. Emotional fluctuations briefly present, but now stabilising to regularly normal frequency."
I kept devouring the forced nourishment. In the meantime, I listened in on the stranger's complicated words which didn't seem to be directed at me. It was as if he was taking notes. A doctor, perhaps? I couldn't make heads or tails of it right now, but I forced my warbled senses to try and stay conscious.
"Demonic energy also shows normal circulation. Earlier fluctuations were noted. The suddenness of dissipation needs analysis. For now, all readings are stable. Hm… You're as normal as can be, at first. After all, this began three years back. Should I take this as a bad sign? Surely not. Even if you nearly died, no observable deviations remain. Unless my calculations were off?"
The man before me hummed in a calm tone. He waved his hand and, to my surprise, something made out of light manifested before him. I tried forcing my weak eyesight to adjust, but it was slow going. It took me a while until I recognized it as a floating holograph, very much a transparent screen made out of pure light! And he was interacting with it like some hi-tech wizard!
Since I am Broly, that must be advanced holographic technology.
This kind of advanced tech! I cannot wait to get out of this pod and fiddle around with it myself.
Until something crossed my mind.
Something that the scientist had just said.
'Did I just hear what he said about Demonic energy? I don't recall ever hearing about Saiyans having Demonic energy. Is this some kind of Alternate Universe—Wait, I almost died?!'I thought while widening my eyes in shock.
The reaction from the mind-boggling realisation brought back a sense of panic which crawled into my chest. I tried moving, trying harder than I had earlier now that shit may have hit the fan and I was in a nightmare realm.
As I did, a weird alarming sound echoed all around me, the screen in front of the mysterious man turned red and signs started blinking all across the interface.
"Heightened emotional levels? The subject is suddenly experiencing an increase in mental activity, is this emotional distress? The increase hasn't exceeded the danger limit. The trigger is unknown. Commence relief process, stymy his heightened emotions. Sedation is optional, but these needles would likely do damage. Should I just pump more drugs to put him back to sleep?"
Crap, I was so preoccupied with my panicked state that I forgot about my condition which was being monitored using some kind of a very hi-tech device by this lone man who is probably a scientist of some sort.
'A mad scientist, by the looks of—no, wait. Calm down. Even if he is experimenting on me, losing my shit is the worst way to clue him in that I know what he's doing.'
I quickly reigned in my emotions, or rather, I forced myself to calm down. Meditation was hard when I was freaking out, but finding a happy place, or a thought to calm down was easy when a threat to my existence could be just behind a wall of glass.
I slowed my breathing. Then Slowed it harder, as I was doing this I noticed the ocean of green which was probably my ki inside me was calming down.
Or demon ki if this is an alternate universe and that totally a mad scientist is experimenting on me with Demonic energies or genetics, or something.
When the red lights and beeping alarms started slowing or disappearing, I knew I was on the right track. Slowly but surely, my heartbeat relaxed. My effort bore fruit as the red alerts vanished entirely.
"Hm… A momentary panic attack, is it?" I disregarded his acute speculations and focused on keeping myself quiet and calm. "Detecting a moderate decrease of emotional distress. Note: Spontaneous recovery, no sedation involved. Assume self-regulation." The scientist said with a calm tone, then a light chuckle. "No further anomaly from the subject."
After a brief minute of silence, the man spoke once again.
"Any attempt to continue the experiment is deemed inefficient. Closing session." The man said while closing the floating screen. The man then approached the glass pod, as the light finally turned on, allowing me to see my surroundings.
What greeted me was the warped image of a child floating in a glass tube. Or rather, the reflection of a child.
A tiny, chubby, ugly-looking child.
'Wait a minute, is that—Is that me? Ok, first of all, No Saiyan tail. If I'm Broly, then I should have one. And why is my hair green? I hate green colour, damnit."I mused while inspecting my new appearance.
A realisation struck me like a lightning bolt.
'… I wasn't Broly, to begin with…'
After a moment, I finally calmed down enough to think properly.
'Alright, so I wasn't Broly, then another keyword is that I have a demonic power. So it means that I was probably reborn as a demon in the demon realm… Or was I?'
Even more questions, very little concrete answers. And here I was, stuck with a chaotic train of thought as I weakly floated in a tube of glass.
Looking at my surroundings, I noticed that I was held in some kind of a lab. The lab I was in was surely a dreary place. Being only lightened enough for grown-up demons who can already see in the dark anyway. It took some time for me to get used to my eyes being that of a demon as well so I finally got to see what was going on around me. It was drab, mostly because beyond some screens, tubes and cables.
One of them was probably my father, and I am using that word lightly. It was all too possible for it to be. Besides, the tube's glass didn't help me to see since its curvature was messing with my sight too, which made me even more angry about it.
But I didn't have the luxury to dwell inside my mind while being uninterrupted. Not when I heard footsteps approaching and a face peeked from across the glass. Behind the reflection, there stood someone who had been experimenting on me not a minute ago,
Meeting his eyes had my heart-stopping.
He was a handsome man in his twenties. Light blue eyes and slicked-back green hair. He wore a black-coloured lab coat underneath his brown sweater, along with light brown pants and simple black shoes.
But his attractive appearance was not the thing that mesmerised me. It was the fact that I totally, absolutely, recognized this man.
'What the hell is Ajuka Beelzebub doing in here?!'I mentally screamed in a flabbergasted expression, which probably would have been shown had I not worn this mouth-respiratory device thing. 'Wait a fucking minute, I was in DxD?!'
"Pretty active, aren't you, little one?" That he addressed me, and I knew he did because, upon my flinching, a small smirk appeared on his face.
He knew I was awake. "Relax. Go back to sleep. Now's not the time to be up and about. Recover and rest. We will continue the experiment next time."
Well, he doesn't seem too bad. Maybe this wasn't the worst-case scenario?
"—I'll see you soon, my son, Mael."
My eyes couldn't have widened enough upon hearing Ajuka's last word before he left the laboratory.
'I was his son?!'
-Mael-
It took me a while to come to terms with the reveal and realisation that I'd lost my past life.
The main issue was I pulled a main character and died in my old life. Then, maybe I happened to find an unknown being who gave me a second chance, throwing me a rebirth in this world.
To put it simply, I have been reborn as a devil in another world一sorry, the scion of motherfucking Ajuka Beelzebub.
I'm a reincarnator.
In the world of Highschool DxD, no less.
A universe where Deus, Dragons, Devils, and other supernatural races roam about fighting and competing with each other due to various political, religious and racial mumbo jumbo.
Also, a particular, boob-loving perverted main character who later obtained so much power through his sheer obsession with supernatural titties, big or small. Not discounting a literal Fairy Goddess of Breasts who gave him a blessing due to his overwhelming love of mammaries.
Oh, let's not forget the world of literal transformer-like lifeforms which eventually threaten the world I currently inhabit.
Suffice to say, I was very sceptical about this being a glorified second chance. Considering the bullshittery to come, I'm still thinking the deity that plopped me here had unsavoury intentions for doing so.
I mean, I knew about Highschool DxD, probably better than most considering the sheer inconsistency of this shitty titty-obsessed series.
Speaking of, I wonder what kind of asshole found it funny to dump me in the body of a child. If I had known I was going to be transmigrated, I'd have specified a date. Meaning I didn't have a say in this transmigration bullshit.
I could surmise that much from my choppy memory. I even got some inkling or need to punch a deity whatsoever so I could only guess what pissant forced me into this scenario to begin with intended for me to do.
Fuck.
Indifferent god and impromptu reincarnation aside, I had a long enough time to gather my thoughts and fragmented memories.
From where I came from. The world I was in was a rather unique novel from Japan which I read a fair bit of in my youth. Well, 'fair bit' would be understating it.
Alas, a second life was still life. I wouldn't just wave this chance away to oblivion just because of the unfortunate turn of events to come.
I have the opportunity to experience something new, and though I can't recall much of my former one, I'd sure as shit take this golden chance to live it to the fullest.
On the upside, I can't dwell much on something I couldn't remember clearly.
On the other hand, Ajuka's experimental baby…
Yeah, there's an issue with that.
One, having the body of an underdeveloped baby forced me to be dependent on Ajuka's assistants, or my caretakers as I called them. Waiting on me twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, all because, as a tiny weak baby that found themselves in this otherworldly situation, I could do jack all.
Those stories and anime showed how the main character was a badass motherfucker upon being skated? Yeah, no. Big fat lies.
Second, I had to experience being a baby once again.
Sure, I had the mind of an adult, but for god's sake, I swear anyone responsible for this reincarnation thing deliberately placed me in a baby's body so he could enjoy my torment.
Hunger, something I think I could put up with for hours on end in my old life, really, really sucked. It happened more frequently and when it came, I was hungry. And that's just the beginning. I don't even want to get into the depths of bowel movement.
Those parents weren't lying when they called their babies 'poop factories'.
At least during my time in the lab, I didn't have to worry about hygiene since the pod had a cleaning function automatically and spontaneously tending to my bodily needs, hunger, cleanliness, etc.
Another thing was I didn't have to be fed using breast milk.
Not that I was averse to some titty food, but being an adult as a baby, it shamed me somewhat to imagine doing it. Also, I think I got a little too used to my daily nutrition being regularly maintained by a tube chugging that mysterious substance down my gut.
Being fed four to five times a day may seem excessive, but at least the nutritional slop filled my needs almost immediately.
Still, my stress levels have never been so high.
Being trapped in a laboratory pod after my rebirth, while not uncomfortable, did not help my mental health.
In fact, during my confinement, my stress levels were often the reason I almost destroyed the whole baby pod chamber room due to my unstable demonic power reacting to my emotional instability.
The reason why I was born this way was apparently because my demonic power fluctuated, going low to high and back sporadically. Without regulation, it was also very destructive for my surroundings.
Very destructive.
Fearing for my safety and the possibility of destroying myself was the reason Ajuka brought me to this secluded place.
The training to control my demonic power was deemed mandatory by Ajuka from the moment I showed any level of intelligence.
Not only was it for my benefit, but apparently from his conversation with his attendants, it was also to protect me from any possible assassination attempt from outsiders.
Ajuka doesn't mention any possible culprit, but from what I could guess, the Old Satan Faction, that infamous militant radicalist, would be the prime example of that.
However, I was quite surprised when Ajuka mentioned the Hindu Pantheon at some point.
Has something happened in the past? To the point where Ajuka was very wary against them?
My initial assumption was due to my birth circumstances.
They were not bothered by Ajuka and Sirzechs who were born at Ultimate Class and eventually reached their current heights, Ajuka feared that I who was born with a demonic far beyond any Ultimate class who potentially reached the level of Great Red and Ophis, might pose a greater threat for the Hindu Pantheon.
And considering the third was a descendant from one of the two, they probably would go into total hunting mode the moment they learned about my existence.
As for those who still followed the remnants of the Old Devil Kings faction, they were considered a lesser threat.
But lately, I've heard about something odd.
From Ajuka's intel which I eavesdropped on, there was a new figure who took the seat of leadership in the Original Devil Lord faction. And this new devil apparently posed a significant threat, enough to threaten the stability of the current Underworld.
Given I was far from mature, and with my unstable Demonic energy, suffice to say that Ajuka took the matter of hiding my existence very seriously.
Hence why I spent several years inside the pod doing training to balance my control.
However, it was easier said than done.
Not only did I have to try to stabilise the entire abyss of an ocean inside my subconsciousness, trying my best to reign in its raging waves over and over again, but I also had to control my emotions during the process.
On the first attempt, I probably would have torn the entire building down from the sheer pressure alone had Ajuka not been present to mitigate the damage at the time.
Hence the first thing I needed was control. Control my emotions. Control my focus. Controlling all within my head, heart, body and soul.
And the easiest method of control was through meditation. To control your breath and be calm like a perfectly flowing stream, to suppress the roaring current into a gentle creek, which somehow worked as it allowed the ocean to slowly dwindle from a raging tempest to a quiet and still pool.
An oversimplification, yes, but it's all a product of Ajuka's research, not me learning things on my own.
Meditating allowed me to gain easier control over myself, without which, I'd be a ball of volatile energy in the epicentre of a disaster zone.
It didn't take long for me to be able to start taking reign over the ocean and using it slowly. Instead of having myself getting drowned inside the neverending abyss, it felt like I was able to move the ocean through my will.
Still, the process was tedious considering my attempt to control the entire abyss of power was a long, drawn-out effort. Initially, it was like trying to move a freaking immovable wall.
Once during my image training, I metaphorically swam around, trying to explore the limits of the pool that was my power.
I managed to find the edge eventually, but it took a long time. Safe to say Ajuka was right to compare the entirety of my demonic power reserves to an abyssal sea.
Even with my near-perfect emotional and mental control, I still couldn't fathom the true capacity of my energy pool.
"It's hard…" I grunted in between my attempt to quell this colossal ocean of demonic energy.
"This is the 376th time you've complained," From the monitoring room, I heard the unmistakably annoying voice of my father. "Bear with it."
"... It's easy for you to say that一ghk!?"
I was about to voice my complaint again, but it nearly caused my demonic energy to fluctuate to dangerous levels.
The alarm blared with full force, as Ajuka's assistants were scrambling in haste, trying to suppress my leaking demonic power by activating the emergency security system, locking the entire area down with multiple arrays of sealing magics that would limit the range of destruction.
But that's not to say it would protect everyone sealed with us both. Realistically speaking, Ajuka would likely be the only one to survive.
Alas, their effort was all for nought the moment cracks started appearing from the sealing arrays, which ranged around thousands of magic circles.
"I-it can't hold up much longer一!"
"一No matter how many I times see it一Hm… this is simply… incredible… Lord Mael一!"
"Lord Ajuka, we need your assistance一!"
The assistants were all on high alert trying to sedate me. As for myself, I was trying my best to control my inner world, gritting my teeth in frustration.
Trying my best to pull these raging waters of numerics back onto myself was excruciating.
Not in the physical sense.
It was more on the mental strain, which was debilitating.
Despite my best efforts, I was unable to properly contain it, causing more demonic energy to be leaked, instantly destroying hundreds of magic circles at once. The backlash caused many of the lab's attendants to be blown away by the sheer strength of my demonic energy alone.
'Damnit, why is he taking so long to help me out一!'
I let out a breath of relief the moment a greenish magic circle appeared to surround me, sensing Ajuka finally joining the effort to suppress my power.
It doesn't take much for him to assume control of everything, be it with his orders to the other research assistants or overriding the existing suppression magic with his Kankara Formula. The tempering waves of my demonic power were quietly sealed back into my child-sized body.
Everyone breathed a sigh as nearly every single one of the attendants quickly fell on their butts. Some out of relief, others out of exhaustion.
"Once again your lack of emotional control made you lose your grip on your power," I had to suppress my urge to click my tongue as Ajuka's voice echoed from outside my baby pod. "Everyone, take a break for fifteen minutes. We'll start again from the beginning."
'Dammit.'
I couldn't help but curse inwardly as my damnable father didn't give me any chance to take a long break. And it seemed to be shared across with his attendants, but they wisely kept their mouths shut.
Alas, their emotions were clearly shown as their fluctuating demonic power was stained with red.
Yikes.
Father, you might think about giving them overtime pay or they might start to riot.
Well, if it was possible anyway, lest they might get blown away by this deranged father of mine.
I felt bad for them.
It took me quite a while to acclimate and refine my control. Toning it down to an appropriate level and preventing a meltdown was now something I could do on my own.
Mostly on my own.
Years of being stuck inside that forsaken pod… alas, it was finally over.
After gruelling years of demonic power control training, I was finally free.
Freedom in stretching my arms has never felt so exquisite.
"Finally!" I yelled in glee in my newly constructed room. "It has been five years! Five! Fucking! Years! Finally, after so long, I am free from that accursed pod!"
Behind me, Ajuka just looked at me with an amused expression. "Bored aren't you, my child? So much that it even makes you scream with such volume."
I shot him a look.
Ajuka just chuckled seeing my expression while waving his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. I concede."
I snorted while crossing my arms. Hmph, as it should've been. After having trapped his son for almost a decade, he didn't get to comment about me getting bored.
"I shall leave you alone in your room," Ajuka said while using a remote to turn on a special feature of my room, which was a huge TV sliding out from behind the bookshelf. Pretty nifty and practical in terms of space, but what had my jaw dropping was the inclusion of a bunch of gaming consoles, including a freaking Playstation One!
Holy shit, isn't that a relic一? No, wait. I almost forgot that I basically kind of travelled back in time.
However, I am questioning Ajuka how he managed to obtain something like a flat-screen television, as it wasn't supposed to be released until a few years later. "Worry not your little head on that. I have my means. Now, go ahead and enjoy yourself. Alas, don't forget to rest. In exchange for some freedom to do as a child would at your age, I expect you to endure harder effort in the coming days. Your advancement in the experiments deserves a reward after all, so I expect you to play just as hard as you've worked so far."
Hmm. he could be a little more tactful partnered with a reasonable parental sensibility… Oh well, no need to delve further, because I have things to do, namely revisit my childhood!
With that, I spent nearly the whole day playing games. Say what I can about his indifferent and callous handling of my destructive power, he had a bunch of great games selected for me.
Didn't expect to see my favourite game ever, Final Fantasy VII, in all its polygonal glory! Even a lot of the other games, retro as they were on release, still sparked my interest considering I always regret missing out on them in the long distant past.
I was making up for lost time by jumping right into video games I didn't get to during my previous childhood.
"Damn, didn't know that you can get Knights of Round after defeating Emerald Weapon, it's been a while and I truly missed a lot of things after revisiting this game." I sighed after I finished part 2 of the game.
For fuck sake, I hated Emerald Weapon.
Fighting bosses were usually a thrilling experience, enjoying the thrill while trying to cut down those insane HP bars.
Fighting a boss with a time limit wasn't. It was stressful and nearly caused me to break my controller several times.
Why did those devs ever put this format on this boss anyway?
Anyway, I am done for today and will continue the last part for tomorrow. I can't wait to kick Safer Sephiroth's ass.
Looking at the clock, I realised that it was nearly past eleven at night. Man, I played so much that I didn't check how much time had passed.
'Huh, the year is 1996 huh? Still, four years left until Playstation 2 is released,"I mused while turning off the lights in my room, ready to call it for today. I decided to hit the sack for today, all while thinking about various things that happened during this year.
Maybe I should think of playing with stocks and gambling.
Who knows I might need it one day.
Several years have passed since I was reincarnated.
At least I have a starting spot that potentially leads me to becoming overpowered while living an easy life at any time.
'Let's forget about it for now,' I huffed and let the issue be. Better relax now or my power goes out of control again. 'Having my attendant fix another mess like last time would make me a bad master…'
"Young Lord Mael." My eyes perked up as I turned my head towards the double door of my bedroom upon recognising the voice of my attendant. No one was there, but the voice continued. "Lord Beelzebub has summoned you to his office."
I sighed. Great, what did he want this time around? Considering I already finished with my daily check-ups and training, it likely wasn't for that. "Alright, I'm comin一"
The space in front of my bed suddenly shifted.
"一Or not," I said in a flat tone.
A crack then appeared in front of me, as a raven-haired woman casually walked from inside the crack. Her greenish eye met my bluish one, as the woman then lifting the skirt of her dress, bowed gracefully. "I shall accompany you, Young Lord Mael."
I looked at her perfectly crafted demeanour with a bored expression. I'd already grown used to my attendant's proclivity to avoid using my bedroom door when entering. However, my eyes automatically landed on something above her head, a thing which I always saw every time I came face-to-face with her.
'Her number has increased a bit compared to the last time I met her a few weeks ago.'I mused in my mind. Though, the woman's voice broke my muse with her sultry, yet emotionless tone.
"Perceiving me again, Young Master Mael? From your expression alone I can infer that you've noticed the increase in my overall scores compared to last time?"
I shot her an annoyed look. Not that she was trying, but her smug attitude with that blank expression was irritating sometimes. My innate ability to perceive someone's worth through numerical values only I could see was not a secret between us and my father. "You've been picking up training again, have you?"
"Correct, Young Master Mael," the woman hummed in satisfaction hearing my answer. "And it seems like you haven't improved much compared to before."
I shot her another look.
A cheeky maid that she was, she merely took it with a giggle as it had been a routine for us to have banter like this. What can I say? I don't appreciate a stiff master-servant relationship. I prefer someone who can take a jab or even jab back sometimes.
Had she only been a normal attendant speaking with a similar manner towards me, their existence would have perished without any second thought for such discourteousness. And wouldn't that be a waste of personnel.
My father taught me well about how to act as Ajuka's only son. But why waste a good banter-friendly attendant when this house is already deplorably devoid of entertainment?
It was mortifying during my early years at first, but I've grown past that. The more I spend my time with that screwball of a father, you would pick up on one or two of his faults. Keeping a secret about my verbal-sparring attendant is easy when you know he wasn't looking.
Ajuka as a一as my father一was a unique experience, if I could describe my new parentage. After I awoke from my supposed coma, which according to the conversations between him and his lab assistants, Most of my early life as a baby was largely spent in that pod.
The machine was built to monitor my condition which had been unstable ever since I was born. Suffice to say, I was totally horrified when I learned about how many times I almost died due to my debilitating condition. But it's not like I can voice any complaints considering that I am almost dying, again.
Not to mention, I also often heard him speaking with his assistants about experiments, which irked me a lot.
For him, I was a precious test subject first, son second.
I had to stick to placating his whims and being the obedient test subject, something made easy because of my adult awareness.
Considering I was an adult trapped in the body of a child, and also having a body of a supernatural being, being able to walk soon after awakening was a struggle but turned to child's play as soon as I adjusted to being barely two feet tall.
Although I needed to wait for a while until I was allowed to touch the ground. Ajuka sort of demanded that I be able to control my demonic power to a satisfactory result, according to him.
It took me a while, but I finally tasted freedom after being stuck on that forsaken baby pod for half a decade!
Unfortunately for me, soon after my condition was getting better and when I was finally released from the baby pod, Ajuka took my supposed rapid growth with gusto.
Experiment after experiment was conducted, from a simple test, to a gruelling torturous month in order to test my power to the absolute limit. Well, it was not like something new for me.
If there's one thing one needs to know about Ajuka, it's that the man himself was a combination of a heartless scientist, the worst father of the year, and a bloody brilliant teacher.
The man barely touched me at all, merely using his ability to telekinetically lift me from time to time一he at least saw to my needs. Food, education, attention, and care. He also assigned several maids in order to apparently fulfil my needs of physical touch, since touch starvation is apparently a thing? Not that I really needed it, but it was still a nice thing coming from him.
If I put myself as a student, all I can say is Ajuka was a brilliant teacher.
His training regime allowed me to grow leaps and bounds with simple yet expansive explanations, I could say that his teaching was superb. I wasn't born with powers or supernatural abilities in my old life, but living with a genius allowed me an easy grasp of my capabilities and potential for the future.
The reason why Ajuka conducted numerous experiments on his son was so I could inherit his own craft, born from his interest towards the numeric and calculation value to create his own unique brand of power.
The Kankara Formula.
A unique ability that Ajuka manifested by using in-depth calculations to manipulate and control various phenomena using his demonic power as a base. In this world, only he alone could use it.
As far as I knew about the household of Astaroth, even from the series itself, they never showed any sort of clan ability whatsoever. A lot of the Pillar Clans and Extra Devil Clans' 'Clan Traits' were never mentioned. But being smack-dab in the centre of this new reality, I was forced to learn quite a bit through the books in my father's study.
Which many explained the nuances and foundation of the Pillars, the Clans, and more. The Astaroth Clan among others were intriguing as a clan blessed with taming-based abilities, similar to what the Vapula and Bune Clans have.
The Vapula tamed Lions. The Bune Clan dominated Dragons. Astaroth reigned over Serpents. In addition, Astaroth was a charmer. They were capable of hypnotising any target with their alluring voice, dominating the targets' minds, enslaving them under their whims.
Essentially, we were snake charmers, but not in the sense of streetside theatrics. Actual fricken hypnosis and mind control.
I never learned about whether I got those Clan Traits since Ajuka was mostly focused on honing my own Kankara Formula. When my condition was stabilised enough for the man to finally discharge me from that monitoring pod, he quickly took the time to shove as much as he could into my brain.
Namely, dragging me to his personal library where he kept various books about the history of the devil race, the history of the Four Devil Kings, and even the record of the Devil's Civil War.
Those things weren't shown in the series, where mostly it was only mentioned on occasion. However, Ajuka demanded that I memorise the nitty-gritty details and everything else in his library in just under three months.
Three. Fucking. Months.
Suffice it to say, it was shit.
At least I now had a reason to utilise my own brand of the Kankara Formula which he forced into my brain before to help me 'study' everything in a shorter time span. I spent the rest of my free time doing more productive things than being imprisoned in his chilly, dusty library for days on end. Considering he had over five thousand books in his stockpile, I think I might've offed myself due to boredom.
Memorization aside, Ajuka also taught me mathematics, human magic, and even runes from Norse magic to enhance my foundations to further strengthen my version of the Kankara Formula.
'The more you know, the more you comprehend, the better the calculations.'
Those were Ajuka's words based on his experience utilising his power.
Which was why I took it upon myself to put in some effort on my part. Material sciences, mathematics, magic, all this including combat training, weapons training, and others.
I had to put a finger in every pie, taste each and every composition, comprehend it, and then continue. On repeat, over and over, and over and over.
A couple of years spent doing this might've bored a child, or the claim could be made that my childhood was ruined by helicopter parenting. But as I'd never done the magic shit before in my old world, I don't think my new self with the new powers could count as a 'wasted childhood'.
How many kids can say that they lost out on being curious children when the Kankara Formula's calculations gave them an encyclopaedic view of all the things happening around them? In a world of magic bullshit, no less?
Although he treated me like a test subject, my father still showered me with a luxurious life the moment I was old enough to stand on my own two feet.
A king-sized bed, a spacious room, and freedom to explore the grounds when no experiment or lesson was in session.
The price I had to pay was becoming the best, most powerful devil of his creation.
So far, I was within his calculations, growing more and more by the day. It wasn't too difficult for me given my condition and power.
He didn't bother with much in terms of ethics and etiquette. Those lessons were given to me by a different tutor of the household. One who had been assigned to be my keeper at all times.
But given his power, he must've anticipated my lack of entertainment and decided on a particularly unique attendant among attendants.
Like making his queen be my personal attendant.
Falak, Queen of Snakes from the realm of the dead, currently taking the form of a raven-haired woman with greenish-slitted eyes. The same figure who was currently standing in front of me with her trademark mischievous smirk.
"What did he want this time?" I shot her with suspicion. Considering the last time he called and put me in a near-death experiment by pitting me with a bunch of Basiliskout of all things, It's not far-fetched that I am wary of what my so-called father planned this time around. "Another experiment with him?"
Falak shook her head in response. "Unfortunately, today's schedule is all cleared. Lord Ajuka is waiting for you in his office for a separate matter."
I narrowed my eyes.
Clearing my schedule for something not experimental? That was very unusual for him.
My father had rarely ever gone without a day of training if not for experiments. Something was off, and I couldn't help but be anxious about whatever Ajuka had in store for this meeting.
"Very well," I nodded to her explanation as I got up and ready. "If you say it's important, Falak, then I'm inclined to pay more attention than usual."
"Before that, young master Mael;" Falak interrupted before I was about to jump from my bedroom. Showing a set of formal wear wrapped neatly in plastic. "Please change your attire into an appropriate one. Today we have a special guest so you need to present yourself properly."
A guest?
That was unusual, considering for the entire time I lived in this laboratory, which also functioned as a mansion.
There was never a single guest who visited this place.
Not to mention from what I heard during my time in the baby pod, this home was practically off the map, meaning there was no single devil in Lucifaad that was aware of its existence.
All but Ajuka, Falak, and his most trusted attendants, all sworn to secrecy.
Ajuka even went as far as placing a security protection spell on all of his attendants which would automatically trigger when there was any sort of attempt at interrogation on them or even their deaths. Any chances to expose information regarding this place were monitored. Ajuka's actions and intentions were for him and him alone.
Anything regarding my identity was also nil.
Any infringement on this complex spider web of a net, the Kankara Formula would retaliate with an almost certain fatal counterattack.
Anything that happens in Ajuka's manor stays within Ajuka's manor.
From what I heard from the man himself, Ajuka designed the spell to overcharge the invader's demonic power from the inside, effectively turning them into a sort of living bomb.
Even the servants here were aware that, ever loyal that they were, would even volunteer to be the bomb themselves given they were conscious upon captivity.
Talk about extreme measures.
Shaking my head, I decided to take my thoughts somewhere else. Namely, changing my clothes since today's guest was an important one.
Quickly throwing away my casual t-shirt and short pants, I looked at myself in the mirror. Instead of seeing an average man with average height, it was a tall adolescent with a perfectly shaped face and the athletic figure of a young man. My hair was coloured emerald green, and my bluish eyes were an inch closer to the reflection of my newer self.
[Spoiler=Protagonist]
/Spoiler]
"Even after years passed, I'm still not used to this," I spoke to myself, sighing in the process while scratching my smooth hair, which contrasted my previous one. Once again, the devil's physiology was complete bullshit.
I looked at the formal suit I had ready. Though not something to be worn at a ball or party, it would suffice for a formal visit on the level of a fellow nobility or colleague of Ajuka. The man was ever one for appearances as long as it was practical and his colours, so I always had something prepared in case for lessons.
"This should do." I patted myself down, having dressed myself as swiftly as humanly possible. "Let's not keep father waiting."
The Serpent Queen nodded, sidestepping away from the rift she'd made earlier before allowing me to walk through the portal. Gulping slightly, I immediately came face-to-face with a stone-cold man who sat at his office table. My curious face contrasted with his stoic indifferent expression, I was practically staring at an older version of myself.
Ajuka Beelzebub.
My eyes twitched every time I met the man—no, the monster—who casually sat in front of me, with his blueish orbs staring straight into my being.
'No change,'I mused but didn't express anything.
Despite the unchanging value, it was still unnerving to see the absurd set of amounts coming from him. Among other individuals that I came to meet with ever since my reincarnation, there was not a single one who eclipsed the sheer value that this man held to date.
I'd pull a joke of over 9000, but my father quite literally donned the title One of the Four Satan in existence.
Ajuka Beelzebub, formerly Ajuka Astaroth.
Attesting to his stone-faced demeanour, the man himself didn't flinch upon my arrival. Merely acknowledging my presence with his usual: "You've finally come, Mael. You're 1 minute 53 seconds late, 31 seconds more than usual."
The first time I heard this meticulous analysis, one of my eyes visibly twitched. Then what followed was a ten-minute-long berating of how, as his heir and an upcoming lord of the house, I could not expose a hint of emotion no matter what. Today, I simply replied with, "Apologies, father. I was cleaning up my things before coming."
From behind me, Falak quietly giggled before sealing her rift with a snap of her finger.
"Hmmm… I am curious about whatever things that distract you from answering my call, but I will let it slide for today." As much as his monotone irked me, I kept the perfectly crafted mask on as Ajuka's intent today was keenly piquing my interest.
It was already unusual to get summoned like this. To not even get a scolding, much less added assignments/experimental sessions for being a few seconds late… That was very unusual for him.
I mean, Lucifer's balls, we're devils. Time was hardly a matter for us! But this OCD-driven father of mine was above and beyond a micromanaging prick. And that's before considering how Ajuka was viewed as a deranged lunatic.
"So, what seems to be the problem?" I decided to simply ask him immediately, since Ajuka is a man of few words, I needed to take a direct approach between us. "You called me while also clearing all of my schedules for today, surely it's not just for a father-son bonding—"
"Your mother is coming."
… My what?
"What?"
Any sense of suspicion immediately vanished the moment Ajuka said something that I would never expected him to say. At all.
My mother? I had a mother this whole time?
No, wait, technically yes, I do need a mother to have been born. I'm not thatoblivious and even if I'd been an experimental baby this whole time, Ajuka would still needed an egg cell to fertilise with his sperm to make me. I highly doubt anyone would fit his standards, but science doesn't lie.
But it bring me to another question.
'Who is my mother?'
Before I had a chance to properly question Ajuka, however. His office door vanished. Not exploded, or even smashed into pieces, just immediately vanished without any warning. Had it not for the detection ability of the Kankara formula I wouldn't have even noticed!
Following that was a gargantuan darkness that caused my eyes to get hazy due to the amount of numbers that suddenly spawned in front of me.
"W-what the hell!?"
"Being so impatient that you have to wreck my office, how illogical are you woman—"
A condensed force of a very familiar energy suddenly flew past me, flying straight up towards the ever-emotionless Ajuka. I didn't even have time to cry out as he easily dispersed it using his Kankara. Several of the same energy cubes quickly followed up, all with the intent of harming the green-haired Satan, who naturally deflected all of it with ease.
"—Can you stop doing that? You could have destroyed one of my precious records with your nonsensical greetings."
"It was not nonsense when you were supposed to arrive in my office this noon!" The attacker growled as they marched straight towards my father with a highly condensed and intimidating jet-black—no, dark purple? Aura surrounded whoever did that.
But what stopped me in my tracks was the flash of numeric value above the newcomer's head. As my eyes widened at the value, proof of the power that had me quivering where I stood told me the truth about this guest—no.
This Monstrosity.
The value showed that her aura was decently higher than my father's! It was pretty much the fucking highest power value I've seen to date. I stood motionless, trying to confirm this revelation as the dust settled.
When it did, a flash of red caught my eye. I was mesmerised upon finally seeing the mysterious figure who oh so casually attacked Ajuka with the intent to painfully maim.
She was a captivating beauty.
Her light bluish orbs were dangerously brilliant. Though coming off with quite the domineering aura, it didn't take away from her otherworldly charm. I'd say it amplified her looks with how dignified and regal she carried herself. She wore a cream-coloured sweater, with a sash that hugged her belly, which showed her voluptuous figure perfectly accentuating the allure of her natural curves. Raising my vision was difficult, especially when my gaze crossed her bodacious breasts.
[Spoiler=Mother]
/Spoiler]
But most noticeable of all was her shoulder-length crimson mane. Smooth yet freely flowing, graceful as it danced over her shoulders. Like a second flame to the dense aura coating her body, she was like an alluring candlelight burning in the centre of an inferno.
She also bore a strong resemblance towards a certain red-haired devil that I knew, though I might be misremembering things considering her hair was darker and since I hadn't seen her yet.
Currently, this incredibly gorgeous woman was glaring daggers at my impassive father, the fiery vermillion of a woman meeting the immovable cobalt stoic with an angry, very much dismissive air.
"Where is he?" The crimson-haired lady asked—nay, demanded with a dangerous hiss.
My father, unimpressed by the display, didn't shift at all. "It has been a while yet this is how you greet others? Quite amicable of a visitor as always."
She didn't much appreciate the sarcasm. "Cut the bullshit Ajuka. Where. Is. My. Son?"
I blinked.
'Wait a minute… A son?'
As far as I knew, my father never showed a kid around my age. And considering his personality, I doubt that anyone would ever be sane enough to leave their children to this psychopath. Which means…
"I told you, you would meet him the moment I finish moulding him proportionally. Considering the delicate balance of his upbringing to date, I have deemed it necessary to amply prepare him in controlling—"
"You are late." I had to hide my eyes as she slammed her palm on his mahogany desk, a flash fire ascended the varnished surface, a display of her control despite her rage.
Anything that Ajuka was about to utter was completely meaningless as the woman's aura exploded, practically enveloping the entire office with the dark purple colour of death yet not destroying anything just yet. I nearly couldn't hold back from leaping away. If I hadn't used my demonic power to block most of this dense, oppressive energy automatically, I might've retaliated at the first sign of injury to myself or Falak.
Even still, I watched in mortification that somehow the aura emanated from this vengeful mother was eating through my own Kankara through sheer destructiveness alone.
'Damn Father. Where did you find this woman just for a precarious business? And what did you do to even piss off this monster?'
As if sensing my distress, the woman then slowly rescinded her hazardous energy, allowing the ominous purple colour to be dispatched away from the room.
The room then fell into an uncomfortable silence, as the woman simply whispered at Ajuka, this time with a pleading tone. "Ajuka, for the last time, give him back to me. Our pact ended way back and I've yet to meet him since you took him away for years. I waited for more than a decade when you promised me less than that. I yearned myself to embrace him and I've only held back on account of our agreement.
Taking a deep breath while wiping a stray tear from her eyes, the woman regained her composure as she continued. "But that agreement was done with yesterday. So… Don't let me repeat myself. Let. Me. See. My. Child. Now."
Her statement caught my interest.
My eyes then narrowed upon thinking of such a possibility.
Looking for confirmation, my eyes landed on Falak who stood calmly in her place. Dignified professionalism in the face of an outsider as my father's faithful Queen, her eyes upon catching my glance flickered. As if reading my thoughts perfectly, Falak made a slight smirk and nodded once. Just once. In confirmation.
'...So this woman is my—'
"—There is no need to be sentimental. And for the record, I had not reneged on my part of the deal—" Ajuka tried to explain, but it was quickly shot down by the woman.
"Liar."A dangerous haze enveloped the woman once more before dying out under her restrained emotions. It seems her power was as volatile as her emotions. "If you aren't hiding him from me, then where is he?"
"Would you calm yourself down?" Ajuka sighed, crossing his arms as he motioned to the side, to me. "He has been here the whole time. Watching your shameful display of overreaction, might I add—Cut it out by spreading your Destruction. My study will turn into ashes before long."
While my father was preoccupied with suppressing whatever things which literally incinerated anything from touching his things, I too was preoccupied with my own thoughts.
The moment she looked at me, I saw a myriad of emotions flickered from her eyes. Relief, happiness, longing, love, every single emotion that was directed at me came down like an enormous storm that swept any trace of her previous self.
I'd barely registered how fast she turned, saw me, and then dashed to embrace me. That and the massive bear hug I was suddenly enveloped in.
But as the sobbing on my shoulder intensified, I did the most reasonable thing.
That being trying to endure. The embrace born from motherly desperation was great, very great in that she wanted nothing more than to cling to a child she'd not seen in so long. My bones had already started cracking, popping from their joints with almost veritable ease. It took my all just to not suffocate as she whispered sweet words into my ear and she clawed the back of my head enough to knock the air out of me.
Okay, this is awkward.
One second she was close to murdering my deadbeat father, and the next thing I knew, she was killing me with hugs and kisses. All the while, being a sobbing mess. Not to mention, her ridiculous strength was no joke either.
"Help—!" I choked, trying my utmost best to untangle myself from this crazy-ass mother of mine. And these two bastards were not helping me at all! One of them was already laughing at my predicament.
'Wait, Falak! You damn snake—Stop trying to record me in this state!'
I mentally took note I'd need to get back at that bitch later. First things first, I had to slip away from my new parent to stay alive.
'—Dammit, even with using my demonic power to empower myself, I'm still not at her level at all!'
Someone please knock some sense into my gorgeous, yet airheaded mother of mine!
Beta Reader: LuluViBritania, ReavesTheReader, Basilisk
Authors Note: I am back with a new story on my stash. I have been working on this for a while until I got time to refine it. Not exactly a good life.
But at least I finally got time to write and polish a few raw plots. And thus, this snippet was finished. But for now, enjoy this chapter. I'll see you guys later. Ciao.
P.S: I should have uploaded this on my snippet thread. But for some reason, no one actually bothers to check it so in the end, I posted it separately.