Hungry...So Hungry 1 (DXD Devil OC SI)

You know, I never knew I was squeamish.

Until I saw my own blood stain my hand; a knife to the stomach would do that to you. I wanted to throw up, but all that came out was more blood. The asshole must have hit a vital artery, never was a master of biology. And then the chills came. It was so cold.

I turned my head slightly to the left and saw a couple of people passing by the alley. I wanted to call out for help, but it only came out as little more than a whisper. They wouldn't do anything anyway. I've lived in this place for years, and no one ever looked my way.

Thankfully, the grocery store threw away their spoilt or old food in the trash nearby. It tasted awful, but it was enough. I almost killed for a sandwich, though that was a dark day. I just realized that my life was flashing before my eyes. It felt so short. The guy who stabbed me was already gone by the time I could look back up at his face.

Although my last memory of drinking some type of expired water was an interesting end, those last three bottles looked really weird.

If I had another chance, I would want to eat the best food from all over the world. Maybe start a restaurant. Yeah, that sounds nice.

Getting harder to keep my eyes open… I'm gonna tap out for now.

Not like anyone cared anyway.

Closing my eyes, I heard what sounded like a clock being smashed on the ground, and the world went gray, and then I blacked out.

-Naberius Territory Slums (Year: 2007)-

"Why does the afterlife smell like shit?" I asked myself as I looked around and saw rotting walls and floors that looked worse than the street I used to get money on.

Checking my hand that I held my wound on, I saw that the blood wasn't there, but I couldn't stop seeing it. The urge to throw up appeared again, and I keeled over and let out what I assumed was my lunch, but these hands weren't mine. In fact, my entire body felt different.

I could smell things from what seemed like multiple meters away and taste the air. I threw up again as I tried to get the taste of blood and rotting bodies out of my mouth. Yet, as I tried to get up, I fell over and over again as I tried to steady myself.

It was like my childhood all over again. I tried to recall how I could have gotten here, but all I got were blanks. I couldn't even remember my own name. All that I got were flashes of memory of a room with needles and screams and cat ears?

I never even noticed when I started shivering and shaking, and as I tried to stop myself, I looked around what I assumed was some kind of warehouse and found dozens of corpses on the ground, and I got some kind of picture.

This must be a place where either a rich man or the government disposed of their bodies, and based on the condition of this place, it can't be legal.

As I stumbled out of the place, I looked up and saw a red sky with a shining purple moon, but that aside, I looked around and saw no one, so I just started walking. Without even realizing it, I started running at speeds that would put a normal man in the dust, and as I left that warehouse district, I saw small huts and poorhouses for blocks and blocks.

As I looked over to a small family, I walked over and asked, " Hello, ma'am can you tell me where I am?"

The woman looked me over and said, " You must have gotten really drunk if you don't remember where you are."

I didn't, but let's play along, " I think I got roofied by someone, would you mind filling me in?"

She simply scoffed and said, "You're in the Naberius Domain, you know, in the Underworld, if you can call it that. The only part that looks like a domain is the inner city. I don't know why you're all the way out here, but I'd recommend leaving. There's nothing here to find."

(Imagine Hoovervilles from the Great Depression for how the slums of the Naberius Domain look.)

"I can see that, thanks anyway. Do you know anywhere I can find a job?" The woman gave him a look that did not give him good vibes, but she simply turned away and left.

Shaking my head, I walked through the place and found the same shit that I saw back in my old life, just in what I know was now hell.

You heard it here, folks: God hates poor people. He literally sent me to hell.

Well, Hell was forever, so let's try to make my afterlife something decent, shall we? First order of business: I need a name as it seems my death made me forget some things, like my old name for one.

I am a devil now based on the wings that are popping out of my back, but what would be a good name for a devil?

Pondering this question, I found what looked like a soup kitchen or what passed for one. Yet, as I walked in, I found a silver or white-haired devil blocking my way as she said, " Wait in line; it's not your turn."

"I'm not here to eat, my friend. I am looking for a job. Do you have any open positions?" The white-haired devil looked at me and turned around, yelling.

"Hey, boss! We have a volunteer here! What do we need?!"

"Can he cook?!" A squirrely voice asked from the back.

"Can you cook?" The woman asked as she turned his head back to me.

Thinking to myself, I found a confidence I never knew I had for some reason and said, " Yes, yes, I can. I have had prior experience in the culinary arts."

"Well, it's not my head if you're lying. Find a cap and chef suit and get cooking!" He then shoved me into another room, and as I put my hair cap on, a basic apron, and a decent outfit, I questioned where that confidence came from.

But as I walked into the kitchen, I saw that only one person was there, and as she saw me, she asked: "You're the new guy?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said with a faux salute.

"Okay, so here is the kitchen. Have fun and call me Charlie, not ma'am. I am barely over a hundred." Okay, one, she's just giving me access to the kitchen, and she's over 100 years old! She doesn't look a day over twenty!

"I feel as if you are simultaneously complimenting me and insulting me at the same time." Her eyes narrowed at me as I quickly shook my head.

"Not at all, Charlie. I was just wondering why you trust me being the only one in the kitchen so soon?" She simply shrugged and started to walk outside.

" You're the only one willing to work here, so have at it. It's not like these people have anything else to look forward to." Her face frowned deeply as she said that, and I then picked up a cooking knife. At that moment, I went through an apotheosis as years of cooking knowledge were smashed into my brain in seconds.

A smile made its way to my face as Charlie walked out and started taking orders, and I got to work. The silver-haired woman from before looked through the small opening between the counter and the kitchen and yelled, " New guy! We need some stews and soups out here!"

"On it!" With speed unlike anything I could fathom, I was already cutting the ingredients at speeds that seemed impossible while letting the broth simmer at a decently high temperature and adding some salt and ground pepper.

The vegetables, now cut, were sent into the bowl. I then tasted it and felt that it was adequate. Setting the bowl onto the divide, I continued to cook as the smells wafted from the kitchen and filled the entire area with the smell of freshly cooked beef stew. The people outside simultaneously started to drool as I continued the process.

"I don't know what you're doing in there, but keep doing it!" Charlie said as she acted as the waitress outside as she served some meals to the devils outside

The process took a few minutes as I was working with lackluster equipment, but it was enough for now. Placing more orders of stew and various soups outside, I saw more and more devils take their seats, and as I looked outside, I saw the first customers take a bite of their food, and I kid you not, folks, some of their clothes disintegrated into nothing!

I had to rub my eyes on my apron, yet all I could do was laugh to myself as I walked back into the kitchen and kept cooking.

If Hell was forever, why not make it better?

Essences Used: Gourmand (Diluted), Toriko, and Food Wars

(The Essence of the Gourmand has been nerfed so that he can only summon ingredients relative to his level of power, and he needs to find his own cooking equipment, and the Essence of Toriko has had its infinite appetite energy removed.)

(Recommend a name for our hungry MC)

(Also this story begins half a year before canon DXD)