01 – New Life

The sky was dark and the region was very noisy due to the noise of thunder that marked that night.

It is possible to find a large mansion in the middle of the region, but beyond the building there is no sign of civilization, just a vast empty area.

In that mansion there was a young boy with silver hair with black tips and deep blue eyes named Nero. This boy quickly entered the room in front of him, ignoring the bad weather.

Nero leaned against the door of the room and slipped over until he found himself sitting on the cold floor with an expression on his face of utter astonishment.

The boy looked around only to find himself inside an unfamiliar and at the same time a somewhat familiar room. Strangely he felt like this was his room.

"What is happening? Where am I? I remember being on the street, hearing a horn, feeling severe pain… and then nothing." He recaps the events out loud in hopes of some epiphany.

Nero tries to move his head, but feels very dizzy. He closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath, then opens his eyes again and observes his surroundings.

The boy sees a well-made bed, a wardrobe, a desk, a shelf full of books whose covers are marked with runes, a lamp, a rug and a mirror.

Finally he recognizes the room. It's his room... no... it's his room in his past life.

'How? Wasn't I on the street? Am I sure I was run over? Did I die again? Well it's possible since this already happened once, at least this death made me feel less useless.'

Well, if being run over was my second death, what was my first? This is the question that permeates the young man's mind, but he soon remembers how he got into his current situation.

"Didn't I die because that lunatic grandfather of mine was taking his frustration out on me like I was his personal punching bag?" The boy spoke in a low voice fearing that the man he was referring to could hear him.

He remembered very well the last time he saw that cruel smile, it was the same moment he was brutally attacked by his grandfather's attacks coated with demonic energy. That scene was not forgotten during his peaceful life as a human, since for some reason of fate he used to have the same nightmare constantly reliving the same scene, his own death. As he remember that scene he felt a cold sweat running down his spine, a tightness in his chest, a tremor in his limbs.

He felt fear. It is not fear of death, but fear of facing that monster again, fear of having to be in the same universe as a lunatic with terrorist tendencies and desires for total annihilation.

He also felt contempt. Contempt for that man who had no regard for his own family, who had killed his son and grandson, and who had persecuted his other grandson to the point of the kid running away to an enemy territory: the fallen angel area in the underworld. He felt disgust for that man who called himself his grandfather, but was nothing more than a murderer.

And finally, he felt a deep anger rooted in his core, something he had repressed out of innate fear towards the target of his hatred, but was now able to be honest with himself. He felt anger for being dragged back to that hell, both in the literal and figurative sense, anger for being robbed of his second chance, anger for being powerless to change anything. He felt rage for that man who had once ruined his life and who would not stop until he destroyed the entire world for his own amusement.

After the flow of emotions, the boy realized something very important, something that is not natural and should not be happening in a normal situation, but for someone who has already been reincarnated twice, what is the concept of normal?

'Well, there's no point in being shocked by my own life. The important fact is that I shouldn't remember something that hasn't happened yet. How is it possible for me to know that my infamous grandfather is planning to destroy the world by releasing a beast that was sealed centuries before my birth?' The boy reflected in his mind about the strange situation he found himself at that moment.

Accompanied by the noise of thunder and the flash of lightning, the rain fell calmly on the bedroom window.

Nero remembers about the four devil kings, the old devil faction, the three race factions and many other concepts. However, he also begins to have memories of events that have not yet happened, things he read about during his second life.

"So my dear grandfather is trying to destroy the world with the Sephiroth Graal, then with Evil Dragons, after that by releasing the Trihexa and finally by starting a war with advanced mechanical life forms that can kill our strongest dragon god without breaking a sweat... machines don't sweat, so it wasn't the best analogy." He organized the memories he acquired about his universe during reading in his second life, then came to the obvious conclusion he already expected. "Fuck that damn Rizevim, why the hell did he want to destroy the world so much? Just for the sake of chaos? Maybe he knew he was a character from a novel and decided to go crazy... no, that's unlikely, he was already problematic from an early age and wouldn't accept a fate doomed to failure. The only conclusion I have is that grandpa should stay at the psychiatric ward of Sitri's hospital, not that I plan to spare the geezer if an opportunity to kill him arises and Vali certainly thinks the same."

When lightning flashed in the darkened room, Nero covered his eyes with one hand and started laughing hysterically. After a few minutes he gradually accepted the mixed memories and freaked out about the situation.

"FUCK I REINCARNATED TWICE JUST TO COME BACK TO MY ORIGINAL BODY. WHY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAK... ahhhhhhh" The boy was screaming with fury then he feel a huge pain in his head. "Shit, I forgot that devils feel pain by talking about the big guy."

He keep laughed until he eventually calmed down and began to critically analyze the situation.

'I have memories of an adult human who lived on planet earth in a world without any supernatural powers, only advanced weapons. In that life I read a light novel that perfectly described my original world, except for the fact that I didn't exist in that story. I can see two possible conclusions: firstly, the beating I received from my grandfather was so severe that I dreamed of a lifetime in the short period of time of my recovery, this scenario is unlikely but cannot be disregarded. In the second option, I actually died due to my damn grandfather's attack, then I reincarnated as a normal human who read a fictional story that referenced my world and then I died again to finally go back to square one, This option is plausible considering that the world is full of gods, including some responsible for reincarnation.'

Nero entered a reflective state again, thinking about the possibility of being in a universe similar to that novel he read in his past life, the famous ecchi history about a pervert whose dream is to have his own harem, the book named Highschool DxD.

He still remembers a little bit about the universe of Draconic Deus represented in the novel of DxD because he thought that the male protagonist was ridiculous for using the so called power of breasts.

But he had two problems with that novel: the first one was the events on a universal scale that happened in the final course of the story, which made him worried about his lack of strength to survive or deal with them. The second one was how ridiculous the idea of the protagonist having the power of a legendary dragon was, and instead of being a brave warrior, he drew power from his obsession for breasts. There were even members of devil nobility who didn't give a damn about the lack of common sense and modesty of the kid, even making songs to praise his peversion.

'I disapprove that attitude because it is an affront to the honor of my race. Even though I am not that strong, it is my duty as Lucifer to protect the honor of the devils… It has nothing to do with me losing my adult body from the second life and returning to being a teenager in a world of perverts… Even though my body is pretty healthy and handsome…' He kept repeating the beginning in an attempt at self-affirmation until he eventually reached the final conclusion realizing that it wouldn't be so bad to be in an ecchi world with powers.

Nero had the surname Hunter in his other life, but his surname is no longer the same. In this life his name is Nero... and his full name is Nero Lucifer.

He is one of the two remaining pure-blood devils from the Lucifer family. He is the eldest great-grandson of the original satan Lucifer and the older half-brother of Vali Lucifer, the strongest White Dragon Emperor in the history.

His situation in the Lucifer family is not good, but is not as bad as Vali's. He is Vali's half-brother and he was not born from a relationship between Razevan and a human, he is the son of the Lucifer clan and the affiliated Satanachia clan.

He is a pure-blooded devil, so it stands to reason that he should be the one with higher talent and strength, but unfortunately that's not the case here. Vali's talent is exceptionally high. It exceeds that of their own father, and Nero is aware that his little brother is the White Dragon Emperor of this generation. On the other hand, he is just his grandfather's expendable piece that is only able to manipulate souls and shadows at a very rudimentary and basic level.

When he was born, Razevan was excited that his son had inherited the trait that made the Satanachia clan unique. His father thought that just as the Gremory had taken the ability from the Bael clan, this was the Lucifer family's opportunity to become even stronger and show their dominance. But Razevan's plans were thwarted and Nero's nightmare began.

Since his lineage wasn't the problem there must have another reason for his life's troubles, and it was because he was weak. The boy is a pure devil like his grandfather, but he only have mediocre talent bordering on the threshold of a mid-class devil.

Since he was a kid, he was pushed to the limit of his body to grow up and further develop the Satanachia clan's unique trait related to souls, but after many failed attempts, his father gave up on him and just ignored him. His grandfather didn't even think he was worthy of his time.

Well, it wasn't his fault. The last member who knew the techniques and training for the Satanachia lineage was his late mother. Without proper training and innate talent, it was inevitable that he would stagnate in mediocrity.

The most ironic thing is that even his hair is not completely silver as the rest of his paternal family, his hair have black tips like his mother hair color.

His frailty and appearance made him neglected by his family and mocked by the servants, who called him the second false Lucifer. The nickname did not bother him much, since having a title that linked him to Sirzechs Lucifer was not an insult but an honor. However, in the eyes of the members of the Old Devil King Faction, the current Satans were nothing but scum who stole the title from the rightful owners.

However, the recent events have brought a turning point that will change the degrading situation.

Five days ago, Vali escaped from the mansion. Nero thought that this would bring some moments of peace as his family would be busy with the searches, but he didn't know how mistaken he was...

Only to learn that his father had been killed by the transcendent devil Rizevim Livan Lucifer, who was also his grandfather.

His grandfather vented the rest of his anger on him, and that was how he experienced death for the first time. Fortunately, he was reincarnated and ended up in the current situation.

Now, he and Rizevim are the only ones left in the mansion, along with some loyal servants who serve Rizevim.

He had read the original novel and was the grandson of this old man, so he knew about Rizevim, the first super devil, who had lost interest in everything around him. He also knew that Rizevim had learned about the existence of another world ruled by machines and elven gods.

The old guy was a total lunatic. Out of boredom, he had declared war on those beings who were much stronger than him. Not only did he start a war with the ExE world, but his actions in his own world were also incomprehensible to normal people. For example, he had ordered his son Razevan to persecute and torture his grandson Vali, or he had killed his son because he thought he was pathetic and cowardly, or he had released the beast emperor who caused trouble even after his death.

"Damn, I'm screwed. Maybe Rizevim will get bored or angry and come to kill me. Oh wait, he already did that before. I'm weak like my worthless father, he'll probably kill me just because he despises me. I miss the peaceful human life." He whispered to himself. "If only Vali hadn't left yet, I would have tried to run away with him. I'm really unlucky."

After some time, a voice was heard from the other side of the door.

"Nero, open the door." The person said.