Well, I was reincarnated as a baby, but I don't know what to do. This is the second time I've reincarnated, and I'm getting a bit frustrated at this point.
The system appeared in front of me, its words displaying a robotic tone. [You have kept all of the abilities from your previous life except for your vampiric ones. You remain the Original Sin of Envy and still have World Breaker.]
Huh, at least I kept some things. I was in the crib, alone, vulnerable, and helpless. So, I did the best thing I knew how. I cried.
As I cried, my wails echoed through the wooden room. I heard footsteps rushing toward the door, a man with bright red hair coming in and picking me up.
Immediately, I stopped crying and looked up at him. "Awh, looks like our little one just wanted his old man, huh?" He chuckled.
His hair was, like previously mentioned, bright red. It was a bit longer, going down to his lower neck. Which, thankfully, I believed I had a lesser chance of inheriting extremely long hair again.
He had a patchy beard and a mustache that seemed pretty full. Dear Lord. He was muscular and tall, like a lumberjack or something.
He had brown skin, similar to mine, and his eyes were bright red.
I heard another pair of footsteps; a woman, slightly shorter than him, entered the room. She wore a plain blue dress that complemented her ocean blue hair and eyes. The color contrast between these two was astonishing.
"Look at our little Yohi. He inherited your eyes and hair." The man, presumably my father, said.
My mother had more fair skin. One thing I noticed, though, was that Father had some strange markings on his neck, and my mother had curved horns coming from her forehead.
The horns were thin, and their points were sharp. Wait a minute, are these people... demons?
"Ahh, our little devil. What kind of magic do you think he'll have?" Father asked the woman, presumably my mother.
"I have no idea. We have to take him to see a Mystic. Kids do start displaying magical affinities when they're ten, but demons do have it a little sooner." She said, reaching out and taking me into her arms.
So they have people to determine what magic types people have, huh?
I snuggled into my mother, sighing contentedly. If anything, I needed this. It's been so long without someone to hug, talk to, or anything... It felt... Comforting.
"I hope you don't steal him from me." My father said jokingly, making my mother chuckle.
"I won't, I won't." She said, cradling me in her arms.
"Wait... Do you see that?" My father moved the collar of my shirt, revealing the Sin of Envy marking, which was a spiral of vines that looked like it was surrounded by a crown of chains.
"By Lucifera! Our boy is a Sin!" My father yelled, my mother immediately shifting me in her arms and gasping.
"By the Devils, you're right!" She said, excitedly, raising me in the air. "Our precious Yohi is a Sin!"
I became a little uncomfortable with this. Was being a sin a precious thing among demons? Why were they so happy?
"If we protect him, and I train him long enough, he can become one of the 4 Demon Lords!" My father said, the term Demon Lord ringing too familiarly in my mind.
Back when Kaido used to show up at my shops, he'd talk to me about certain manga or anime he had seen. A few Isekais mentioned the prospect of Demon Kings or Demon Lords that are eventually defeated by the Heroes of the story.
If I do become one, that's not going to happen to me.
"Well, if we want that for him, we have to keep his marking a secret, at least until he learns how to hide it if he can." Father said, placing his hand on his hips, "Well, I'm off on a delivery mission."
He said, placing his hand on my small head. "Listen here, okay? Dad is going to be away for a while, alright? When you grow up, take care of your mother, alright?"
I looked up at him with big, innocent eyes. I have to play the part of a baby until I can gather more information here. Now I know I don't start off with magic immediately. Guess I have two systems, huh?
[The Systems of Power I have told you about are only the beginning. As Aspects, Magic, and Routes are all main systems, each containing their own sub-systems. My information is limited, but there are potentially twelve systems. I only know of a fourth and fifth.]
What would that be?
[Mana is considered its own system, as one can be very proficient in mana manipulation but not have magic. They are able to mimic the properties of magic, in a way.]
[Another system is called Flow Energy. People who have this are purely physical beings, going beyond what their race or species can produce. These beings are also more than likely resistant to magical effects. This is purely theoretical.]
My small brain can't take this...
My mother put me in the crib, smiling at me. Not wanting to be back in there, I played the annoying card and whined, prompting her to pick me back up.
"My, you're a clingy one, aren't you?" She asked, holding me close.
I was starting to feel again. No longer tainted by the vampiric desire for blood, but this feeling was still unfamiliar to me. Like I had never experienced it before. Then again, I vaguely remember having a normal family, though I can't say they were loving. They just did the basics as parents.
Celebrated birthdays, going out to eat, attending whatever little things I did in school. I had a feeling they never truly loved me, though. At least, not showing it.
This was new, though. Demons were always portrayed in a bad light in some stories, painting them as a race of monsters and deviants.
This woman, my new mother, was kind. I could already see it. My father was out of the picture, for now at least, and maybe, just maybe, I can start anew. From a clean slate, no quests or deals, just me.
If I needed to become a demon king, so be it. I nuzzled her cheek, prompting her to kiss mine.
"Yohi, when you're around six, we'll take you to see what kind of magic you have at a Mystic, okay?" She said, talking as if I could understand her, which I could.
"Shouldn't take long. Demons do age relatively faster than most races do, and it slows down once they're sixteen." She sat me down on a plush bed.
I looked around the room, which was quite quaint. These people more than likely lived in the countryside, or, that, or just a nice town.
There was a lantern on the nightstand next to the bed I was on. Indicating that this place wasn't as technologically advanced as the previous place I had been.
The floors were made out of a fresh, but unknown type of wood. It was brownish red in color and seemed pretty smooth. There were a few drawers and dressers made from the same kind of wood.
A small window above the bedframe stood, giving a nice view outside.
Curious, I crawled over, trying to grab a peek, but I was too small. My kind mother, however, lifted me up, giving me a nice view.
Outside were multiple small to medium, yet simple wooden houses. There was some farmland and rolling hills that could be seen in the distance, as well as the faint sound of animals. To my surprise, I heard a moo, the call of a cow.
Looks like I might enjoy being here for a while.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps running toward the door before hearing it burst open, causing me to jump.
"Oh my goodness! He's so adorable!" A woman yelled; immediately, I was grabbed by my small body and held in the air.
In front of me stood a woman, having long white hair and yellow eyes.
"Yohi, this is your older cousin, Lilith." My mother said, as I noticed a bladed tail swaying from behind Lilith.
"A few bodies on his hand and he'll be a fine boy in no time flat! I know a place where he could accelerate his aging." Lilith spoke in an excited manner.
My mother sighed, taking me back into her arms. "Lilith. You know good and well I don't trust certain mages..."
"Come on, Maulie! You're still relatively weak after that sickness, right? You're not in the condition to protect yourself." Lilith spoke in an almost manipulative manner. Why did she want me to grow up so bad?
"We're a battle race, created by our wonderful Sin of Pride, Lucifera. She made us to spite the perfection of the angels and made us in her image of beauty." She said with a smile, "It's important that Yohi grows up fast to establish his place in this world."
"I'll do it when he's about 4 years old then. Since he'll be 7 in human years." She said, Lilith jumping up and down excitedly.
That's some weird aging stuff...
I sighed, seeing the road ahead is going to be a long one. This time, I won't be as trusting and/or careless.