'So dizzy… Just what is happening to me?'

Having been plunged into darkness for so long, Marcus had gotten used to the feeling of sinking endlessly. 

However, things had changed a couple of hours ago. 

'I'm pretty sure I heard shouts, shouts and screams… Plus, it's like I'm moving… A body? Did I get Reborn somehow…?'

Despite the intense dizziness, Marcus tried to focus on the sounds that were being periodically emitted.

'Footsteps…' With the way he could feel his body swaying, it quickly became obvious. 'I'm being carried somewhere. Wait…' Marcus tried moving around a bit. 'I can't move much. Feels like some kind of blanket is over me. My back is resting against something soft… So what happened earlier was my birth. Good thing I'm still having trouble opening my eyes.' He sighed internally. 'Wouldn't want to see that live.' The thought of watching a woman give birth wasn't that troublesome to him, but witnessing that happen from the inside out was enough to make Marcus shudder, shake his head, and attempt to slap his forehead so as to keep his mind from picturing the scene any further. 

He shook his head again. 

To stop his mind from attempting to picture the scene, the darkness surrounding him needed to be dealt with. 

'Come on… Open up!' Marcus urged, trying to open his eyes. 

Before he could succeed, 

"Right here." 

It was a man's voice. Despite the coolness of his tone, Marcus felt himself and the baby basket he was lying in be placed down on something that he assumed to be a table or desk.

"Yes, your Highness!"

The tone of the answer wasn't as cool as that of the order. 

"You may leave." 

"Yes, your Highness!"

Hurried steps were taken, and a door was closed. 

Meanwhile, Marcus was close to finally opening his eyes. Seeing the world around him felt more important now than before. After all, 

'His Highness… His Highness… In other words…!'

He rose up to sit on his bottom, and fought against his lazy eyelids!

The baby finally managed to open his eyes!

Left, right, below, above! His gaze moved in every direction!

The golden hues, the architecture, the luxury of it all!

Yes, there was no doubt!

'Jackpot!" The baby rejoiced, raising his arms up towards the ceiling.'Fucking royalty! Let's goooo! His Highness, this room, the vast gardens that I can see through the window… This must be a castle! The son of a King? No, a Prince since he was called Highness. Hell, yes! I'll take it! Even if I'm his bastard son, I'll take it!'

"Aren't you an energetic little bugger?" The tall man chuckled as he knelt in front of the baby basket that rested on the marble table. "The way you look, one might think you're just…"

'Just…?'

The man sighed and rose back to his feet. He stared through the window, and Marcus studied him a bit. 

He was tall, but also very frail. His tired eyes as he gazed through the window seemed like they would close at any moment. His clothes, as expected, seemed to support the idea that he was a noble or a royal. Because his clothes were so clean, the few fresh tarnishes stood out. 

'Blood… Drops of blood kind of everywhere… Water spots as well… If those screams and shouts were my mother giving birth to me some time ago, then the blood on his clothes is from that… Unlike him, I'm clean… So he cleaned me, hence the water spots on his clothes? I'm starting to think he might have been my doctor, and not my father…' Marcus sighed internally. 

The man turned back towards him, stared for a moment, and poked the baby's forehead, which caused the baby to fall backwards.

"The family grows, huh?" The man whispered with a chuckle. "The Royal Family expands."

'Let's gooo!!!'

The internal reaction had an external reaction.

Noticing the baby's reaction, which was, of course, random, he knelt in front of the baby, sighed, and showed a sorrowful smile. 

"You're going to have a horrible life, little guy."

'Why so negative?' Marcus sighed back. 

A moment later, the basket in which he lay was grabbed.

"Anyways, let's get to it, huh?"

'To what?'

"Ugh… I'm really awkward with babies. You would think that after having spent time with so many of my brother's kids I would get used to it but…"

'Which one am I then? Your brother's kid? Yours?'

The basket was placed on a velvet chair and the man walked back in the opposite direction. 

'Cool…' Marcus thought to himself as he watched His Highness insert a key into one of the wall-mounted chandelier's light bulbs. 'A secret room! Wait… This is stressing me out…'

The stress quickly turned into creepiness. 

His Highness spoiled the surprise before Marcus could see inside the secret room. 

"Welcome, little guy. This is my laboratory. Not many get to…" Noticing the baby's facial expression. "Worried? Ha… Wicked timing you've got. Don't worry, I am your uncle after all. Nothing bad will happen to the King's son."

'So I am the King's son!' The revelation almost made him forget the worries that assaulted him a second earlier.

"Bastard son, but still the King's son."

'I'll take it!'

"Well…"

'Well?!"

"It's a bit more complicated than that." 

The secret sliding door closed behind them with a thud, and the sound urged Marcus to look around the secret room. 

It was even creepier than expected. 

A dozen desks and tables filled the room, covered with dusty manuscripts, old yellowish scrolls that seemed about to disintegrate into dust, crystals of all shapes and colors, as well as large vials filled with liquid… 

'W-W-W-What the hell is that? And that? And that?!' 

"Ho-ho! You have a good eye! Like this one?" The man asked as he placed the basket directly in front of a large vial in which a strange and horrible-looking red-skinned creature was floating. "That's a Wicka."

'At least I now know that Monsters exist in this world…'

"It's a Demon. Pretty weak and common. They're greedy little gold-loving Goblins. Well, in many ways, they are similar to Goblins."

'Yeah, I guess that's how I would imagine a Goblin looking… Except that this one's red, and not green.'

"Anyways," The man nonchalantly took a seat on the desk so that he, the basket, and the vial formed a triangle. "It's a Demon." 

'It sure is.'

"It's a Demon. Just like you are.

'...' The baby's eyes opened and closed repeatedly. 'Well, shit.'

***

"Demons are terrible things, you know? A real plague."

'Yes, I assumed as much.'

"Some believe that all of our world's problems originate from Demons. Every single problem is because of the Demons that inhabit our world."

'I see…'

"And you are one of them."

Marcus closed his eyes and let out a sigh. 

"Don't sigh at me, Demonspawn!" The man shouted as he pointed forward. 

The baby froze in place and stared at him with bewildered eyes. 

"Ugh…" He scratched his head. "I don't know if I'm awkward with babies or if you're just creepy. Well, you are a Demon so… It's a coin toss, I guess."

'I don't know about all that!'

"Anyways, my name is Kain. I'm your uncle…" His Highness looked away for a moment. "Kind of."

'What does kind of my uncle even mean?! Are we related or not?!'

"Argh…" Kain grunted as he stood up. "Well, awkwardness set aside, I'll talk to you for a bit, like I do with all my other test subjects."

'...'

"Well, you are a special test subject. Don't worry about it… I usually talk fine to the others, even when it's a Monster or Demon… But since you look the way you look, I'm having trouble moving past the awkwardness."

'Just hurry it along and tell me something useful!'

Kain slowly brought his hands together and stretched his arms forward, causing his back and knuckles to crack. 

"Your birth was 100% orchestrated by me. I… Hm… It might be troublesome if you remember any of this when you're older. Still, it is unlikely. There's nothing that shows memory in Demons works any differently than in Humans…"

'So I'm a Demon despite looking like this?' Marcus asked himself, his eyes checking every square inch of skin he could. 'We don't look different really…'

"So… Raise your right hand if you can understand me." 

'...'

"Hm. You didn't raise your hand. Trying to trick me? I know you can understand me."

'...!'

Kain slowly walked closer, his gaze stuck on Marcus. 

"You really are creepy." Kain sighed.

'You're one to talk!'

"Talking with my test subjects usually makes things less awkward but right now… It's doing the opposite. Well, it is also a first for me. Having a test subject that looks like you do."

'Should I just lie down and act asleep or something?'

Kain turned away for the moment. 

"Let's try this then." 

The moment he turned back towards Marcus, the baby's eyes opened wide with fear. 

"Let's start by cutting you a bit." Kain nodded, scalpel in hand.

***

'Is he really going to cut me? Since I'm a test subject, then yes… He is. Taking a blood sample? Or pulling my guts out? What should I do? I can't defend myself. I can barely move.' The baby's eyes slowly widened as the scalpel approached. 'No… The most important thing is how I react to it.'

Indeed, because of the questions and thoughts that Kain previously expressed, Marcus decided to look at the situation differently. 

'A baby doesn't know what a blade is. If I react to it with fear, it'll prove that something is up. A baby that hasn't been cut by a blade yet wouldn't fear a blade…'

The baby remained still as the blade got closer and closer. 

The cold metallic feel made the baby shudder as the pointy tip lay on its chest. 

'Is he… Going to kill me?'

Just as Marcus' breathing started to accelerate, Kain let out a deep sigh. 

"This is the problem with working with things you're not used to."

He remained standing with the blade against the baby's chest, and cursed under his breath.

A second later, he felt the blade being moved.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Kain asked as the baby took the scalpel between its hands. "W-Wow!" He exclaimed as he quickly pulled the blade back and away. "I know babies do that but… Gosh, what the hell am I doing?" Kain shook his head and placed the blade away. "Sorry about that, little guy."

'Doubts cleared! Hurray!' Marcus rejoiced internally. 

He had tried to pull the blade to his mouth, as if to suck on it. It seemed to him like something a baby would try to do. 

"The child of a Demon… It's only natural that I would be on guard. Still, you are just a baby…" Kain scratched his forehead. "Guess we'll leave blood samples and all for some other time. Normally I would show a baby the city, or at least the castle and gardens… What should I do with you? Can't experiment on you on the same day that you were born, can I?"

As he stared at the baby, Kain got an idea as to what caused the awkwardness.

"You're too quiet. Babies cry and shout and scream… Maybe that's what's weird about you." 

'And then the tiny detail of me being THE CHILD OF A DEMON!!'

A quietness settled and remained for a couple of minutes. 

"Guess I'll study this instead." Kain whispered as he walked to the other of the desk on which the baby basket lay. 

Kain's hand pulled a small vial out of his pocket.

"A blood sample. It's always interesting to study." Kain explained as he lay the vial next to a couple of others, many of which were shades of blue and green. "There's a lot to learn from a Demon's blood. First of all, the color can say a lot. This one's red, as you can see. It's tougher to tell something from shades of red, unfortunately. Blueish and greenish blood help determine what kind of Demon you're dealing with. Its Species, basically. Demon isn't really a Species, you see. It's a larger classification. Like that Wicka there." Kain pointed. Marcus didn't follow the direction pointed at with his gaze. "You could call it a Goblin with red skin and horns. A Goblin which, one or another, found itself with Demon blood in its veins. Demon blood makes it a Demon. In other words…"

'It's the same as me.'

"It's the same as you. You might look Human, but you have Demon blood in your veins. Just like your mother," Kain made the blood sample rotated between his fingers. "Whose blood is right here." 

He remained silent for a moment, before pointing at the Wicka again. Its body was floating in the vial peacefully. 

"Wickas have greenish blood, just like Goblins. However, if you closely enough, you can find a difference. It's very interesting when you think about it."

'Can you get to the point?'

"There are two types of Wickas. The type that will target gold, and the type that will target women… Well, females in general. The Greedy type, and the Lustful type basically. If their blood is a stronger green, they're the Greedy type. If there's a tiny pinkish or reddish hue, they're the Lustful type. These kinds of differences make studying Demons difficult, since even two members of the same Species might not be of the same Species… They just appear to be. It's more complicated than that but… Anyways, for Demon blood mixed with a Human's, it's tougher as well. Ah, I don't know if I told you, but your mother is that way as well. Human-looking, I mean. Although… Well, that still makes her a Demon."

'That still doesn't explain anything about why the King would… Well, if they look Human then I guess…' 

Kain lay the vial down and walked to the other side of the room as he talked. 

"It was real troublesome getting my brother's approval, but I managed. Now, I have a Demon Child for me to study. Humans and Demons are opposite, they say. I'm not so sure about that."

When Kain returned to the desk on which the baby basket lay, he waved a shiny gem in front of Marcus before placing it a dozen inches away from him. 

Marcus did as he thought all dumb babies would do. He crawled towards the shiny object. 

"You can already crawl, huh?"

'Shit… Babies can't crawl right away? Wait… That's a physical ability. It has nothing to do with my mind and the fact that I was reincarnated!'

"For those of common who live on the outskirts of the Kingdom, it takes months to start crawling."

'Peasants.'

"The closer you move towards the Capital, the less time it takes for babies to crawl. Children of Knights, Nobles, Royalty… The higher up the hierarchy, the faster the babies start to crawl. That simple fact is indicative of a couple of things. Obviously, the newborn's innate physical strength, but also the ability to get stronger with time. In other words, their potential. Physical strength isn't the only thing that increases the closer you get to the Capital…"

'Don't tell me…'

"The higher up the hierarchy the baby is from, the more Mana it holds, and the better its aptitude and talent is when it comes to wielding Mana."

'Magic! Magic!'

"Of course, there are wild variations. It does happen for a commoner to be born with exceptional physical strength and magical aptitude, or for a noble to be born with a feeble body and no magical talent. In your case, it seems like you got lucky."

'Hell, yeah! The King's strength… Wait, as a test subject, being strong isn't actually good, is it? That means I'll be an even more impressive test subject, and a potentially dangerous one! They might keep me in a cage… Or… Stuff like that!'

"Those who hold Demon Blood are known to have exceptional capabilities as well. It took the King's children a couple of days before they could crawl. Since you can pretty much right away, it seems clear that you were Blessed both from your Human side and your Demon side."

'My mother has a Human side as well, so let's not make it seem like a 50-50 type of thing! I'm at worst one-quarter Demon!'

"Out of everyone in the Kingdom, you might be the baby with the most potential."

'Why doesn't that sound like good news when it should… In different circumstances…'

"That makes you the most dangerous as well. The most dangerous Demon…" Kain suddenly took on a baby voice. "But you're going to be a good boy, right? You're going to be such a good boy, right?"

'I'm a baby, not a dog!'

"You'll be my test subject, but you'll also be raised to live as a Human. That was the condition for my brother to accept this mad enterprise. He wants an exceptional fighter on his side, you see? The questions of what makes a Demon a Demon don't interest him. You'll be a tool for him, a sword. You'll be a test subject for me. As long as you prove useful on both sides of that equation." Kain gave the baby a thumbs-up. "You'll be just fine!"

'Doesn't sound reassuring at all!'

A couple of seconds passed and,

'Huh… Huh?! What's happening? I can't… I can't stop myself from…'

"Ah, finally." Kain nodded at the baby's uncontrollable cries. "Hungry, huh?"

He took hold of the baby basket and started walking to exit the laboratory. 

"Time for you to meet your mother."

'I g… I g… I guess!' Marcus could barely form a coherent thought because of the intense hunger and unending cries exiting his mouth. 'Being a baby is so annoying!'