Chapter – 6 An Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree

A certain Castle – somewhere in the Belphegor Domain, Underworld

It is said that when Sirzechs Gremory was born, he floated in the air releasing the Power of Destruction which was so powerful that it could disintegrate or deform surrounding furniture and decoration without a trace. No one in the room except Venelana Gremory could touch him at that time without being harmed.

Similar instances were observed not just in the case of Sirzechs Gremory, but also in the cases of Ajuka Astaroth, Serafall Sitri, Falbium Glasya-Labolas, Grayfia Lucifuge, and Diehauser Belial, each of whom displayed their respective traits at the moment of birth. Even as newborn babies, these people could perform feats others could only hope for, so it is no surprise that the six of these individuals are considered the most gifted Devils to have ever been born and are undoubtedly the strongest within the Underworld in the present era.

Of course, there is one more individual with similar potential, but nobody talks about that person openly. It's not that he is irrelevant, in fact, he is relevant… very relevant, so relevant that his name and presence alone is enough to shake the entire Underworld, but because that person is bored of everything, and since no one has any clue about his whereabouts or what he has been up to for the past five to six centuries so let's not talk about him.

Talking about Sirzechs Gremory, Ajuka Astaroth, Serafall Sitri, Falbium Glasya-Labolas, Grayfia Lucifuge, and Diehauser Belial… each of them is incredible in their own right. Sirzechs and Ajuka are Super Devils and are among the top ten strongest beings. Serafall Sitri and Falbium Glasya-Labolas went on to become the four Maous of the current generations alongside Sirzechs and Ajuka for their incredible power, Grayfia Lucifuge is known as the strongest [Queen] and can go toe to toe against the strongest she-Devil in the Underworld for ten days straight. Meanwhile, Diehauser Belial is the uncontested champion of the Rating Games.

The only reason these six Devils managed to become so incredibly powerful and influential is that they were born with an unmatchable potential among the Devil Kind. Had they not been born with such potential, they wouldn't have made such achievements, and this makes the importance of potential at birth incredibly important.

'The likes of Sirzechs, Ajuka, Serafall, Falbium, Grayfia, and Diehauser were born with such scary potential and overwhelming Demonic Power that their current achievements are a matter of course, on the other hand, there's me… just an above average Belphegor with not so scary potential…'

'Why wasn't I born with unnatural levels of reserves of Demonic Power like those beings?'

'Why didn't I create an infinite number of [Cracks] in my surroundings such that only my family members could hold me at the moment of my birth?'

'Why wasn't I born to be a natural transcendental Class Devil?'

'Why wasn't I born with a Longinus?'

'Why am I the only one who didn't get to meet big-titty ROB who'd grant me three wishes?'

'Where are my damn wishes?'

'Where is my almighty system?'

'Where are my cheats?'

'Sigh! Why am I the only one born as an above-average Belphegor?'

Certainly, he was able to invoke all kinds of supernatural phenomena, such as elemental magics of different natures, using Demonic Power from the stage of infancy, but that does not mean his potential is scary. What it actually means is that he has incredible talent, but does he have incredible talent? After all, the only reason he has been able to create various magical phenomena from the stage of infancy is that Seir is an adult living inside a baby, so he can't truly be considered 'incredibly' talented.

And on the off chance he could be considered talented, that's just talent, not high potential.

Yes, high talent does not equate to high potential. Talent only dictates how fast one grows, it does not dictate the upper limit of one's growth.

'Sigh… at this rate, I would never be able to distinguish myself in the same class as the top ten strongest beings in the world… I would just be known as the heir of the House of Belphegor, and that's it…'

Seir had already developed a solid understanding of his current situation.

Granted, it took him about a year to realize he had been reborn as a Devil in the world of High School DxD, but can you really blame him? How was he supposed to figure that out right away?

It's not like he could have just assumed he'd been reincarnated into DxD as a Devil, right? In the first place, who in their right mind would think, 'Oh, I've been reborn as some kind of demon baby with bat wings... there are other demons around me, my father, mother, and elder sister are also demons of some sort... so, this must be the world of DxD!' right after finding themselves in a strange new world as a demon baby?

Just because he was reborn as a demon baby didn't automatically mean he had been reborn into High School DxD as a demon baby, right?

In fact, assuming he had been reborn into a fictional world should have been the absolute last conclusion to reach. No, even calling it the last conclusion is not right, after all, DxD was supposed to be a story, a work of imagination. Who would actually think that the Draconic Deus could be real? Seir seriously couldn't imagine anyone seriously considering the possibility of being reborn into the world of DxD—to him, it felt absurd to assume he had been reincarnated into that fictional universe just because there were demons around him.

And even if he entertained the possibility of being reborn into a fictional world brought to life, why would High School DxD be his first assumption? For all he knew, he could have been reborn into The Testament of Sister New Devil or some other universe with demons.

It didn't necessarily have to be High School DxD.

It could have been anything!

So how could he possibly reach that conclusion? He lacked enough information, and there wasn't anyone around who appeared in the story—someone he could use as a reference point to connect the dots and figure it out.

Alright, fine—maybe there was someone around him whose name stood out. In fact, his blood-related elder sister, Roygun Belphegor, was that very person. But was he really supposed to hear her name, look at her, and immediately think, 'Oh, since my elder sister Roygun Belphegor shares the same name as the Roygun Belphegor from that story, this must be DxD. I must have been reborn into DxD!'

That kind of logic sounds absurd and completely idiotic!

That's not how things work. For all he knew, it could just be a coincidence that someone around him shared the same name as a character from the story. It's not impossible, after all!

Moreover, Roygun never appeared in any of the first four anime seasons, which makes sense since she wasn't introduced in the first ten volumes of the Light Novel. She shows up quite late in the series, and it's not like her role in the story is so impactful at the time of her introduction that she becomes an unforgettable character, either.

On top of that, she barely had any illustrations in the books—there was just one, and even that was in black and white. Not to mention that it wasn't in the main volumes, but rather, side stories, and honestly, he never bothered reading the Side stories.

He doesn't even remember whether he saw her illustration or not. But even if he did, was he supposed to recognize his elder sister to be that character from a story based on a vague, monochrome illustration?

There's no way anyone could make that connection!

If someone like Sirzechs, Grayfia, Serafall, or Azazel had been around him instead of Roygun, Seir might have figured things out much sooner. But with Roygun? Expecting him to connect the dots so early is completely unreasonable.

So yes, it took him a full year to realize that he had been reincarnated into DxD as a Devil—but honestly, who could blame him?

Anyway, soon after coming to the realization of his absurd reincarnation as a Devil in DxD, Seir started connecting the dots and quickly understood his current situation. Therefore, now he is aware of the fact that he is the younger brother of Roygun Belphegor and next in line to be the heir to the House of Belphegor.

Talking about the House of Belphegor… The House of Belphegor traces its origins to the first Belphegor, one of the seven original Devils embodying the Cardinal Sin of Sloth, alongside the other six. While four of these original Devils went on to become the Maou, the other three did not. However, this doesn't imply that the original Belphegor was weaker or inferior to the four Maou. Rather, it was simply a matter of the original Belphegor being far too lazy to take on the responsibilities and role of a Maou.

Granted, in the Satanic texts, Belphegor is often regarded as the weakest of the Seven Cardinal Demons, but that reputation largely stems from his inherent laziness and indifference toward most matters.

Anyway, after the original Four Maou perished, the 72 Pillars united under the Bael banner to form the Great King Faction. However, the House of Belphegor, alongside other prominent houses like Abaddon, Mammon, et cetera, chose to distance itself from the descendants of the four Maou as well as the Great King Faction.

For this reason, even after the establishment of the new government under the cooperation of the Great King Faction and the Four Maou of the new generation, the Belphegors refrained from playing an active role. They continued to abstain from Underworld politics, keeping largely to themselves for reasons Seir doesn't know. What he does know, however, is that if not for his elder sister Roygun—both a top competitor in the Rating Games and the current Head of the House of Belphegor—the family likely wouldn't even bother attending the Stygian Senate (Congress).

Yes, Roygun is the Belphegor who has somewhat broken the isolationist tradition of the House of Belphegor.

Speaking of Roygun, she is the current Head of the House of Belphegor and holds the prestigious position of second ranker in the Rating Games. While her official status is that of an Ultimate-Class Devil, her personal strength places her at the level of a Maou-Class Devil. She is widely regarded as one of the strongest beings in the Underworld alongside the current four Maous and the Champion and is celebrated as one of the 'Three Strong Beauties,' alongside Serafall Leviathan and Grayfia Lucifuge.

Typically, any Devil from the Extra Demon Houses who chooses to participate in the Rating Games is required to sever ties with their household. Despite this standard, Roygun has managed to retain her position as the Head of the House of Belphegor. That alone speaks volumes about her extraordinary prowess and influence.

However, Seir, aware of what the future holds, knows this success won't last long. 'In just two decades, everything Roygun has built over the past few centuries will crumble like a sandcastle.'

After all, Roygun's success and accomplishments aren't entirely her own. She hadn't achieved her standing purely through struggle, effort, or talent. Much of what she's managed to accomplish is due to the influence of the [King] piece that resides within her, 'When the corruption within the Rating Games comes to light, it will be the end for her. She'll even be shunned by the House of Belphegor.'

'As for why she used the [King] piece… sigh… never mind. That's not important right now.'

What's important at the moment is to go over his potential, and Seir really hates to admit that his potential is not up to the standards he was hoping for it to be.

Unlike the four Maous and the Rating Game champion, Seir wasn't born with incredible reserves of Demonic Power that a Super Devil or a Maou Class Devil would be born with.

This means unlike them, it wouldn't be easy for him to reach that level of strength unless he chooses the route his elder sister chose.

Now, don't take it the wrong way, just because he says that his potential is not up to his standards does not mean that he has zero potential or his potential is very low.

No, that's not the case at all!

Being a Belphegor and carrying the blood of the original Belphegor, even in the worst-case scenario, he would be able to reach the epitome of Ultimate Class in terms of strength without even requiring much training. At least, that's what he thinks based on his understanding of the House of Belphegor as well as Malakarion's Ultimate Class strength.

If Seir trains his butt off for a few decades or so, he might be able to reach the level of a Maou Class Devil… perhaps even a little higher, though this is just a probably since Seir isn't exactly certain of his upper limit.

Going by average High-Class Devil societies' standards, he has very high potential, and he would be able to make a name for himself in the Rating Games if he makes his debut, but this level of potential is not up to his standards. Certainly, he will become an Ultimate Class being, but that doesn't meet his expectations and is nowhere near as scary as the true Maou Class beings like Serafall and Diehauser or the more absurd planet buster like Sirzechs and Ajuka and not even a speck of dust in comparison to world-breaking Dragon God Class.

'Heck, as a future Ultimate Class, at best, I would reach the higher end of a three-digit ranking (approaching a four-digit ranking), and that too at the start of the Canon… In front of the lower end of the three-digit ranking and the double-digit ranking I would be nothing more than fodder… and let's not talk about the single-digit rankings like Hades, Crom Cruach, True form of Sirzechs, Balberith, and Shiva… just being in their presence alone might be enough to vaporize me… As for 666, ∞, the Dragon of Dreams and the ExE gods even above them? Do I even have the right to compare myself to them? Can an Amoeba ever hope to compare itself to a Tyrannosaurus?'

In front of powerhouses of that caliber, he would be nothing more than an ant that can be crushed without them even having to pay any attention to him. A random sneeze, a random fart, or a random footstep, and that's it; it would spell his end multiple times over.

Ultimate Class Devils start becoming irrelevant halfway through the story of DxD and become completely irrelevant when Hades starts creating thousands upon thousands of Devils in his attempts to create Super Devils.

'Sigh, with this kind of strength and potential, I would never be able to accomplish my ambitions…'

Let alone fulfilling his ambitions; even survival is debatable in front of those beings.

After all, Seir is not Hyōdō Issei; he is not the protagonist born with the plot armor, he is not the host of the Heavenly Red Dragon Ddraig, he does not have the blessing of Chichigami; his body is not made up of the flesh of the Dragon of Dreams, and his soul is not protected and powered by the Ouroboros Dragon God.

Most of all, Seir doesn't believe that he can power up by poking nipples!

Sure, he loves them, certainly, he would grope them and play with them, and definitely, he would suck, lick, bite, & poke them if he got the opportunity, which he thinks he will since he is a High-Class Devil by birth. In fact, he has already been doing some stuff since his infancy, but something as absurd as powering up through them just does not make any sense to him.

'I know it's about don't try to understand it, feel it… but I can't cope that hard, things have to make some sense to me, and poking nipples for a powerup doesn't make any sense…'

He can only rely on things that logically make some sense to him, and poking nipples for a power-up is so absurd that he has no words for such absurdness.

All he has is his reserves of Demonic Power that would help him reach the Ultimate Class strength or maybe up to Maou Class strength after a few decades if he were to put rigorous effort into training. Access to the broken Magic System of the Devil Race that works on imagination, the trait of the House of Belphegor, which he'll probably awaken in the future, the wealth, status, connections, & resources of the House of Belphegor, an elder sister who is Maou Class for the next few years, past life experience as a scientist, knowledge of not only the DxD plot but also of a lot of other manga and anime.

'When it's explicitly laid out before me, it seems like I have quite a lot on my plate that I can make some use of, doesn't it? And my greatest power…'

In Seir's personal opinion, his greatest power is neither his not-up-to-his-standard Demonic Power reserves nor his trait [Crack]. Although access to the broken magic system of the Devil race and past life experience as a scientist would prove to be incredibly helpful, his greatest asset is still his knowledge of DxD Canon as well as of other manga and Anime. The knowledge and information that he might be able to put to good use in conjunction with the wealth, status, connections, & resources of the House of Belphegor and his temporary Maou class elder sister to make up for all his shortcomings and truly accomplish his insane ambitions.

He has to make do with these things to fulfill the absurd ambitions he had the audacity of having soon after he realized that he was in DxD.

'Sigh, babies and their absurd dreams… some want to go to the Land of Chocolate. Meanwhile, others want to become the daddy of their mommy, I can't blame my baby self for having an absurd ambition, now can I, even if I am not a baby at heart… but then again, in comparison to the centuries and eons old folks around me, I am not too old, either…'

Nope, he is not talking about the ambition of becoming the multi-billionaire or the first trillionaire in the world. He might have wanted to do that had he not been reborn into DxD, but just this small change completely changed his ambition. Although he still intends to acquire incredible wealth and become a trillionaire, since he already added those things to his bucket list, it is no longer about wealth anymore… it is about status, power, and, of course, women from here on.

Yes, he doesn't want to be mediocre anymore; he has already experienced that sort of life once. In this second life, Seir wants excellence, fame, power, status, women, and everything else this world has to offer.

To achieve everything he desires, he needs a solid plan—a plan that will set him on the right path and guide him toward his goals.

But to create such a plan, he must first refresh his memories of the DxD canon. After all, the foundation of his strategy will rely heavily on the events and details from DxD.

Why the need to refresh his memories?

Well, while it's true that he watched the anime and read the light novels in his previous life, that was years ago, long before his death. Who in their right mind remembers every little detail from something they only read or watched once in their life?

Naturally, he doesn't remember every little detail—but there's no need to worry. It's not like he is in a rush or something. He has some time on his side, and he plans to make the most of it, especially since the DxD canon isn't set to begin anytime soon. After all, the princess of the House of Gremory is barely a one-year-old child at this point, so Seir knows he has several years to prepare himself thoroughly, remember every little detail, develop his plan, and act on it.

With that thought in mind, he mentally nodded to himself, 'Yes, I must recall all the details of DxD canon, then plan out things in order to put all my knowledge to good use for myself, lest I get stuck in mediocrity even in this second chance at life…'

As Seir made up his mind, a voice came from behind him, "So, this is where you have been? I have been searching for you everywhere in the Castle!"

Seir did not need to turn around and identify the person to know who it was. He already knew who it was just from the voice, he looked behind and greeted the said person, "Good evening, Mother…"

Sephie pouted, "Mother…? I preferred 'Mommy…'"

Seir was a little embarrassed to keep calling Sephie 'Mommy,' it reminded him of the quest he once went on in his previous life, a search for Sugar Mommy, which he failed at miserably since he deeply cared about superficial things like his partner's appearance and their body shape. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself that what's truly important is just the money and heart, he just couldn't bring himself to be in a relationship with a wrinkly old hag with saggy tits just for the sake of money and easy life. Certainly, old is gold, and milfs are the true gifts from God to mankind, but they must not be wrinkly and saggy, which is unavoidable in the case of humans.

Seir does not see Sephie in that light, nor does ever wish to see her that way.

Although the idea of mother-son incest does entice him, he does not want to ruin his relationship with her. As someone who never experienced motherly love and affection in his previous life because his mother left to buy milk when he was very young, the prospect of receiving unadulterated motherly love and affection deeply entices him more.

Moreover, he does not wish to ruin the relationship between Mal and Sephie, either. Although his father has a harem of his own which is managed by Sephie, his parents do seem to deeply care about each other, something he did not get to see in his previous life since they separated quite early in his life.

Besides, there's already a nine-tailed fox Milf in Draconic Deus waiting for him in Kyoto; he would much rather think of a way to pound her pus*y one day, rather than try to destroy his precious family, the House of Belphegor, and his own future along with it.

As for the enticing idea of incest?

'Isn't my dear elder sister a Shota-con? And she doesn't seem to have a suitor either…' thought Seir, licking his lips in anticipation while imagining a prospective future that awaits him.

'Ah, but… let's not think about that for now…' Shaking his head, Seir threw away his trashy thoughts into the gutter and turned his attention back to the breathtaking scenery before him. Even if the diurnal cycle, the sun, the moon, and the stars are artificially created to adjust the Underworld's time flow into day and night to match it in the human realm for the sake of reincarnated Devils, it doesn't change the fact these artificial things have made the sky of the Underworld breathtakingly beautiful.

'Stargazing was never my hobby, but that might change soon.'

Unlike the twenty-first-century Earth from his previous life, the Underworld has no pollution… Or maybe he should be more precise here and say, 'Well, no air pollution.'

Yes, while the Underworld doesn't have any air pollution problem, the same cannot be said about other forms of pollution like the most troubling Mana pollution.

What is Mana Pollution? Mana pollution is basically a corrupted form of Demonic Energy known as Miasma, polluting the land of the Underworld. The overflow of Miasma is a serious problem in the underworld as it has made many territories in the Underworld uninhabitable and infested with incredibly dangerous Demonic Beasts that can make even Ultimate Class Devils feel threatened, at least, that's what the books he has been reading about says.

Anyway, since there is no air pollution, so the night sky is very clear and mesmerizing to look at.

Noticing her son so enchanted by the night sky, Sephie smiled lightly. She gently sat down beside him and spoke, "When I was a child, I used to stare at the night sky too…"

"Huh? But the day and night system did not exist back then, right?" asked Seir. The day and night system in the underworld was created within the past five centuries by the current four Maous, before that, the sky of the Underworld was always Violet.

"Yes, therefore, I used to go to the Human Realm for stargazing…" answered Sephie. She turned her attention toward the night sky and added, "Whenever I was troubled by anything that made me feel overwhelmed, I would sneak into the Human Realm and spend the night there simply staring at the night sky…" She paused as she recalled a very important detail and added, "In fact, it was also because of my little star-gazing excursions in the Human realm that I met your father…"

"Is that so?" muttered Seir surprised not only to learn that Sephie used to visit the Human for stargazing but also at information that his parents first met during her star-gazing excursions in the Human realm. 'How long ago was that, though? Probably a few thousand years, right?' Seir couldn't help but think. Honestly, he does not know about this part of Sephie's and Mal's life, but then again, he doesn't know anything about his parent's past and most of the others in the castle.

'Roygun is probably the only one whom I know most about… I know that she absolutely loves Rating Games. I know that to be able to win in the Rating Games and make a name for herself, she even decided to use the [King] Piece. I know that she is into young boys, which means she is a Shota-con. I know that she likes to make conspiracy theories for fun… I know that she…'

Seir's distracting thoughts about his elder sister were cut short by Sephie's words as she continued, recalling her younger days, "Yes… by simply staring at the boundless night sky, all the worries in my heart would disappear and I would feel refreshed…"

"I see…" mumbled Seir which was followed by a minute of silence as the two continued to stare at the artificial night sky.

After a minute of silence, Sephie gently lifted Seir and made him sit on her lap, "Mother?"

Caressing his hair lovingly, Sephie asked, "What's troubling you Seir?"

"What makes you think that something is worrying me, Mother?" questioned Seir as he raised his head to look at Sephie.

Sephie chuckled, "Because an apple doesn't fall far from the tree…"

'That's one way to put it,' thought Seir before returning his gaze back to the scenery before him, he hesitated for a moment, before sighing lightly, and answered, "The future…"

Sephie was surprised, "The future?"

"Yes, the future…" nodded Seir.

Sephie asked, tilting her head, "Aren't you too young to worry about something like the future?"

Seir tilted his head, "Am I?"

Sephie nodded seriously, "Yes, you are… For Maou's sake, you are not even three years old."

"Age is just a number mother…" spoke Seir.

"Alright, that is borderline philosophical… where did you learn that statement?" Sephie was very curious about the source of Seir's statement and asked, "Did Roygun teach you that? No, if it's her, she'd never say something like that… hmm… well, I wonder…"

"Read it in a book…" answered Seir, and asked, "But it is correct, right?"

Instead of giving Seir an answer to his question, Sephie spoke, "It appears that I need to find you some friends your age."

"Am I in need of friends now?" asked Seir. He didn't think he was in need of friends this early, especially not of his age.

"Yes, you do… At this age, the things you should be worrying about are entirely different from the kinds of things you are worrying about, in fact, you shouldn't be worrying about anything, you should be carefree and have fun. But I guess I can't blame you for that, either, since you have always been overly mature for your age. Having a few friends around to play and spend time with will help you get over these worries, it will distract you from all that unimportant stuff that you probably keep nagging yourself with." explained Sephie.

'Having friends might certainly be distracting from that kind of stuff, but that doesn't mean what I am thinking is unimportant. Okay, maybe a lot of it is unimportant, but I do need to seriously consider which Hollywood actresses are going to be part of my 'to-do' list, right?'

After all, he has been reborn into an alternate version of Earth, and there seem to exist people of that Earth here. The existence of Putin, who worked as a Butler in his castle for a while, proves this. Since that's the case, Seir certainly has some plans to make his wet dreams concerning certain Hollywood celebrities a reality. And this stuff isn't unimportant, it's very important!

'I would much rather spend that time doing something (re)productive and train myself than play house with a bunch of Maou wannabes…' thought Seir to himself, but he knew that telling this to Sephie was pointless, and she would only further worry herself, so he did not, 'The troubles that a caring mother faces when her son is such a troublesome guy.'

Well, it would be wrong to say that Seir isn't interested in meeting these 'friends' of his age group.

As far as he thinks, they had to be the young devils of his age, which can only mean 'them.' A part of him looked forward to meeting them, though he had to take into account that he might have to babysit children now.

Of course, even if Seir agreed that he was a tiny bit interested in meeting these 'friends,' there was something else that occupied his mind. Reflecting to himself, he thought, 'I really need to hurry and finish mastering the Demon Language… It's been more than two years already since I started learning it, and I don't want to delay any longer…'

.

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Author's Note:

That's it for this Chapter. Enjoy reading it.

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