"Dang, my head's pounding."
I cracked open my eyes, feeling groggy.
Yesterday was a nightmare—I'd pushed myself way too hard to hit that deadline, crashing on my desk just as the sun started peering over the horizon.
Since it was morning anyway, I figured a shot of caffeine wouldn't hurt.
The sunlight felt weirdly refreshing.
It'd been forever since I felt this awake.
Hold up my place doesn't have windows, where's this light coming from?
Rubbing my eyes, I felt something weird—a rough, leathery texture against my skin. My vision cleared, and I saw my hands.
They weren't my hands anymore.
Scales, claws, and this strange, tough skin replaced my usual tan.
"What the heck?"
I wasn't dreaming. A quick punch to the ground stung enough to prove that.
I was in some old factory, that looked like a car production plant gone to rust.
Did someone kidnap me and mess with me while I was out? Why do I feel so different? And why am I so chill about all this?
I stumbled over to a piece of mirrored glass to check myself out.
I was huge, like, way bigger than I remembered—about two meters tall. I looked like one of those demons from anime, with a goat head, hooves, and even wings. Muscles bulged under my new skin, and these wicked horns were sticking out of my head.
This whole situation was nuts, but somehow, I was keeping it together.
I rubbed my temples in frustration and turned around, and I saw something that horrified me, "What the fuc-" a pile of human corpses. There were few males, but most were females, roughly all of them were old around sixties, but few were younger, all of them had one thing in common—severed heads.
They were fresh and delicious!
WAIT WHAT!?
Why the hell did I think that?
Before I could think further, my body moved independently as if it had its mind. I felt my mouth salivating. As I took a step forward, I felt a surge of fear, and one particular feeling overwhelmed me the most.
Intense hunger.
I reached out, my fingers brushing against the cool skin of the nearest corpse.
It felt like touching a statue—lifeless and unyielding. Yet beneath the surface, I could sense the warmth and vitality that had once existed. It was intoxicating, a perverse kind of beauty amid such horror.
I tore into the flesh, sinking my teeth into the soft tissue. The taste was unlike anything I had ever experienced—a burst of flavors that sent waves of pleasure through me. It was sweet and salty, with an underlying note of copper.
As my hunger grew and the number of corpses decreased until nothing remained, I chewed greedily, swallowing chunks of meat.
I felt full, and I finally regained control of my body.
What had I become? Whatever I was, it wasn't me; it was my pure instinct, which acted on its own.
[Ding! We have increased your life force by 10!]
What?
It couldn't be. Suddenly, my mind surged with theories and conclusions. Ultimately, I came to the sole answer: I had transmigrated into a different universe.
"There is only one way to verify. Open [Status]"
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Moloch Naberius
Race: Stray Devil
Class: Fallen Nobel (E-tier)
Level: 1 (0.00% EXP)
Life Force: 212 (+50)
Mana Level: 842 (+50)
Combat Ability: 182
Stat Points: 0
Exclusive Skills: [Fusion/Fission Lv.Max], [Comprehension Lv.1], [Insight Lv.1], [Observe Lv.1]
Racial Skills: [Intermediate Devil Physiology Lv.Max], [Intermediate Devil Magic Lv.2]
Extra Skills: [Basic Regeneration Lv. 5], [Basic Physical Resistance Lv. 9], [Basic Temperature Resistance Lv. 8], [Basic Mana Resistance Lv.2], [Intermidate Shape Shifting Lv.9], [Basic Elemental Magic Lv.9]
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Remarks: You were once a noble, but the higher-ups' schemes turned you into a scapegoat for others' mistakes, stripped you of your rank, and threw you out like trash.
I see, now it makes sense, I am a stray devil, which means I am in high school DxD. I transmigrated as a savage beast, the lowest of the low, stray devils are considered the trash of the supernatural world, their position in the hierarchy is even lower than humans, as every other supernatural would hunt them on site.
This is probably the worst starter race for an isekai transmigration.
Let's see what else we have.
[Fusion/Fission Lv.Max] (S-tier)
Fusion allows you to combine two or more skills that synergize and create a new higher-ranked skill; in contrast, Fission allows you to perfectly blend skills, creating a synergy that compensates for weaknesses and complements the strengths of selected skills.
Op skill! I can already see a few pairs forming. I will have to try this out later.
[Comprehension Lv.1] (A-tier)
The ability to comprehend any information presented, such as reading texts or even understanding the nature of the world in detail.
[Insight Lv.1] (A-tier)
Going beyond understanding to discern deeper meanings and implications. It involves recognizing the truths, motivations, and intentions behind observed actions or behaviors.
I instantly felt serious. These skills are overpowered in their way. The first offers the ability to understand anything, and the second offers the ability to understand the depth of the comprehended knowledge and learn the truth; in other words, deconstruct the knowledge down to the basics.
They are ridiculous; why aren't they S-tier?
As for the rest, they were simple enough. [intermediate devil physiology] grants me an additional 50 points for Life Force and Mana and all the bonuses of being a devil, the ability to speak all languages, etc. The [intermediate devil magic] level clarifies my proficiency in using devil magic. The higher the level, the more powerful and efficient it would become.
As for the extra skills, they do exactly as they are named; there is nothing special there; however, there was something else that caught my eye: they were class perks.
Class: Fallen Nobel (E-tier)
Perk 1: +2 to every stat on level up!
While this wasn't ludicrous, it was something, but that isn't the point.
From what I understand, every class tier gives a certain amount of perks; the higher the class tier, the more perks you will get; an F-tier class will get no perk; however, an E-tier class will get 1 perk; and a D-tier class will get 2 perks; and so until the S-tier class gets 6 perks, the perk quality will also improve with an improved tier of classes.
I could only imagine what ridiculous perks an S-tier class would provide.
Speaking of which, I forced my thoughts back to reality.
I looked around the factory, and from what I could figure out, it was around nighttime, probably midnight. Using [basic elemental magic], I burned the remaining traces of my carnage. I didn't want anyone to investigate this place.
I used [intermediate shape shifting] and morphed back into my human form. I had blonde hair, orange iris, black sclera, and slit-like pupils. I was pretty tall, around 185 cm, but not like in my true form, which towered over 2 meters. I wasn't particularly handsome-looking; I was about what you call an above-average person. I wore a white shirt and black pants, which I had worn before my transmigration into this world, albeit made and enhanced by [intermediate devil magic].
Being a human again was a comfortable yet uncomfortable feeling (at least looks-wise). I felt significantly cramped and constricted in this form; it didn't feel natural to me like in my monster form.
I guess this is the new reality where I am no longer human, and I will have to accept it and move on.
This human form was probably the original body of the Moloch Naberius before he became a stray devil, which is why it instinctually came to me. To my surprise, this human form closely resembled my appearance (except my eyes) in my previous world, even down to my little brother.
This was strange. It felt as if my transmigration had been pre-planned, but that's a given, right? Some higher being fucked with me and sent to this world for his amusement, but at least he was nice enough to send me overpowered cheats.
From what my memory serves, I was a branch member of the Naberius clan, and due to my potential in research, I was taken into the peerage of the clan head as a bishop, which explains my ridiculous mana levels.
One day, I and a nekoshou named Kuroka were framed for murdering the clan head and were exiled and hunted down. I didn't know where Kuroka went, but I wasn't able to control my bishop piece as it started to go haywire and turned me into a mindless stray devil who hunted and killed humans. This continued for a year until a church executive killed me, after which I transmigrated into this body.
This was an overly simplified explanation but this is all I remember, it seems the original started to forget his previous memories after becoming a stray, probably the mutation messed with his brain or something; but there are many interesting details here to note.
I was killed by an exorcist called Masaomi Yaegaki. It may seem like a random detail to an average person, but to me, this alone is enough to decipher many things.
There are at least 3–4 more years before the beginning of the plot, and I am in Kuoh. Kuoh, the focal point of the DxD's plot, is currently under the supervision of Cleria Belial, not Rias and Sona.
This means Issei, the protagonist, is 12–13 years old. The other significant side characters are also children at this time.
Now the important part is that Cleria Belial and Masaomi Yaegaki will be killed, and the timing of their deaths hinges on whether she is already aware of the king-piece or not. If she is aware that her days are running out. I hope she isn't aware of it yet, she would make a very good ally. Her support would also give me some connection to Diehauser Belial, which would help me to clear my stray title in the best-case scenario.
Yes, I don't want to live as a stray, I don't want to be hunted on sight, and I don't have many options.
I can't go directly to the underworld, and while falling angels might seem like a good option because of Azazel, that's also a no-no, as I would be skewered with light spears before I could even finish my greeting. As for angels, I would likely die before I could utter a word, and this would be the most painful death I could experience. Other factions will follow suit, which is killing me with their methods.
The only place that would probably accept me is Khaos Brigade, but I don't want to go there, so the next best option is to use an opening and earn the trust of Cleria, which is exactly what I will do.
But before that, I will have to get stronger.
For that, I will have to hunt.