《Demon Lord- Earth's No:1 FAN!》 Chapter 1: Life is like a river. ¡°Where¡­¡± Floating amongst a thousand specs of light in an endless river, a weary soul asks a question. ¡°¡­am I?¡± The river of light flowed endlessly, carrying the soul along in a lazy current. The sound of flowing water could be heard. Nothing could be seen in the pitch-black darkness and the only source of light was the river which flowed eternal. ¡°Am I alive? Who am I?¡± There was a hum in the air. The surroundings seemed charged. A distant roar of rushing water could be heard. The little soul tried to move its arms and legs only to its astonishment to find it had none. ¡°Am I dead? Who am I?¡± The soul bobbed in the river of light. It had no arms, no feet, no torso, no head. It had only light. It was a spec of light among thousands of others just like itself. ¡°I¡¯m dead. My name is ¡­¡± Just like thousands of lights. Just like ¡­. No, it wasn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t the same. The spec realized that he was bigger. His light shined brighter. He was the biggest amongst thousands of its kind. They were tiny. He was a giant amongst mice. This pleased the soul. A giant such as he should have a name. ¡°Can¡¯t remember. Hazy.¡± A name. A title. It couldn¡¯t remember. Why was its mind so hazy? The giant spec of light looked around imperiously. A name, a suitable name it searched for that¡¯s when he noticed that there were six light specs that were larger than the others. These six lights surrounded him like heralds. They weren¡¯t as large as him of course. But they were bigger than the rest of the mice. They were like heralds¡­ Heralds to the underworld. The Giant light shivered. It felt something cold enter it. ¡°My name is¡­¡± Why was its mind so hazy? Something¡­ there was something! ¡°You!¡± The giant glob of light noticed an invisible presence lingering about every light spec. Chill! Cold! It floated about, entering every spec. Every time it passed through it took something from them. The [Presence] phased through the giant spec of light. Cold! ¡°You¡¯re erasing my mind?¡± The [Presence] tried to invade the Giant light again. The [Presence] seemed insistent, this was its function. ¡°My mind!¡± So cold! The giant light felt a piece of itself being torn away. There was a flash of pain and then numbness. Numbness¡­ almost as if the memory of the pain was also torn away. ¡°My mind! My name!¡± The [Presence] attacked again. It was insistent. This was its function. Do not resist. It tore at the glob of light, ripping large chunks of its memories away. ¡°You dare!!¡± The light river shook as the giant light brightened. It flashed white like the scorch of a thousand suns. It remembered. ¡°You dare Invade the vessel of the Demon Lord! My vessel!?¡± The [Presence] let out an inhuman alien screech when the Giant light sent it flying using only its mind. The invisible creature threw up giant waves as it went tumbling into the light river. The [Presence] roared in anger as it trashed about in the river trying to right itself. The Glob of light had used its entire strength to push the [Presence] but the creature was completely undamaged. Its suppressive aura pressed down on the surrounding soul lights. The Glob gulped nervously. Demon Lord or not, one must always know when to compromise! ¡°Time for Action Plan number 36! Run away!¡± The Glob hastily surrounded itself with as many soul lights it could find for camouflage and then dove headfirst into the depths of the river. It hurried, trying to put as much distance it could between itself and the river¡¯s surface. The river rumbled and shook as the [Presence] found its footing again. Its invisible gaze chilled the waters again as it scanned around for any anomalies. The Glob could feel its insides chill over, but not as intensely as before as it was shielded by the soul lights it used for cover. The [Presence] gave the river one final sweep for intruders and finally departed when it didn¡¯t find anything. The Glob poked its head out of the water taking sneaking glances around it. Nothing over here¡­. Nothing over there¡­ The coast was clear! With a splash the Glob came out of the river depths, celebrating! It strutted about the river, smug in its victory. The creature was clearly a brainless automaton. Nobody sane would fall for a trick like that! The Glob would have flexed its muscles if it had any. How do you like that? Its super-secret special move! Run away! The Glob coughed in embarrassment! Did he say ¡®run away¡¯! No, No! that was a tactical retreat! One could even say he was advancing in the opposite direction! Feeling better, the Giant blob of light puffed itself up self-importantly. It would take more than a spirit creature to impugn his honor. There was no way he would fall at the hands of such a petty, trifling, mundane creature such as this. The Glob imperiously pointed his nonexistent nose skyward. That¡¯s right! There is no way that he would fall for such¡­ fall for¡­ fall?! But wait a minute! He did fall! He was killed. No Slayed! Slayed by those wretched heroes! Stabbed in the back by those scoundrels! They didn¡¯t even let him use his special move! The Glob would be clenching his teeth if he had any! It flopped about in the river water with blobby fury until six smaller specs of light was thrown up from the river. The Giant light gave the six specs the stink eye. It could now see the specs for who they truly were. The Human Champion, the Orc Berserker, the Dwarf Battle master, the Drow Ranger, the Halfling Bard, the Elven Thief. ¡°YOU! ELF!!!!¡± the Glob roared. The deep demonic voice sounded very off-putting coming from its tiny body. The Glob vibrated with intense fury. ¡°YOU! ELF! YOOUUU!¡± It didn¡¯t even want to utter what that elf had done. The Glob tossed the elf into itself to consume her. ¡°DIE! DIE! DIE! Damn elf!¡± A flash of memory hit the Glob as it brought the elf within itself. ¡°These memories! These aren¡¯t mine¡­¡± The memories were that of the elf. Countless images flashed before the Glob and finally he saw the last memory where he was killed. The six heroes had him surrounded¡­ Human steal and Dwarven armor¡­ Flash of fire and the elf. The Glob raged once again flopping up and down the river water. ¡°No! NO! NO! Killing you would be far too merciful¡± It spat the elf out of itself. It looked much smaller than it was before. ¡°I have other plans.¡± It said chuckling. The chuckling turned into laughter which slowly turned crazier and more maniacal. ¡°MUHAHAHA¡­ HGv@$%gn¡± The laughter got interrupted by the Glob choking on its own nonexistent spit. The Glob coughed in embarrassment. ¡°Never could stick the landing¡­ Need more practice¡± It looked at the rest of the five specs before and shrugged. It tossed all of them within itself. Immediately a confused set of memories assaulted the Glob. The memories flashed before its eyes and it slowly came to understand the big picture. ¡°I see. All the demon lords were killed.¡± ¡°Lucifer, Mammon, Asmodeus¡­. Well there goes Belphegor. Hillary Clinton?! Good show! Jolly good! Off with her head!¡± The Glob cheered, seeing the Demon Lords being slayed. It never got along with the others of its kind and he was always excluded from their inner circle. Not, scary enough they said! Well, Poppycock! He was terrifying! He just preferred doing his research than terrorizing the masses. So, when the memories showing the Demon Lords demise came along, the blobby Demon Lord was quite pleased. That was until it came upon the memories where it got killed. The Glob once again raged silently, flopping about in the water. ¡°Elf!... son of a damn!¡± The Glob shook itself like a wet dog, trying to get rid of the memory that was playing in its psyche. Shoo! Shoo! That memory wasn¡¯t tasty at all! Shuddering the Glob decided to be careful on what it absorbed. Freezing up in an awful memory was definitely not tasty! The river water began to flow serenely once again when the Glob calmed itself. The Glob looked around, smacking its nonexistent lips as it slowly digested the memories. ¡°The other Demon Lords have been slayed. If I¡¯m here then that means the others are here too.¡± The Glob smiled to itself salivating as it checked out the buffet of thousands upon thousands of soul lights. it was time to go hunting! In a burst of speed, it zipped off to absorb more memories. It bounced across the river like a rock that was being skipped over water. The Glob raced about the endless river, collecting the memories from every spec it could see. ¡°This one! A little bit of this! Oh! A minotaur!¡± the Glob exclaimed spotting a soul light. It popped it into its mouth and chewed. Crunch! The Glob nodded in self-satisfaction at the crunchy texture. The minotaur¡¯s memories had a rougher feel to it than that of a human. Crunch! Munch! Munch! The Glob went about sampling the soul lights, savoring every memory. Some memories were pleasant while others were painful. The memories weren¡¯t uniform across races either. There many sects and sub divisions even within races. The Glob¡¯s inner light flickered intensely as it grimaced in disgust. It came across some truly abhorrent humans. It had nothing but submission, rape, murder, torture and goat fucking. Yuck! These humans were crazy! It spat out the experiences in disgust and went back to its endless buffet. The Glob had now reached a titanic size now that it had gorged itself on the memories of thousands and thousands of creatures. The souls looked like tiny pinpricks of star light when compared to the giant blob of light. It slowly lumbered through the river like a behemoth collecting soul lights that were caught in its wake. Variety was the name of the game. It needed new and unique memories and experiences. With each and every tasting the Glob¡¯s knowledge on the soul lights grew. It could now identify the type of race, experiences and background of the soul lights by sight and color alone. The souls of mages were especially colorful. The Glob consumed their memories with great gusto. Their knowledge was quite insightful. The Glob was a researcher in his former life. He had delved into the true nature of magic unlike any other practitioner before him. The opportunity to compare notes with all the mages in the world nearly had the former Demon Lord in tears. The Glob happily hummed a song from a memory as it went about his feeding. All the single ladies! All the single ladies! The Glob¡¯s munching slowed down and it looked about in confusion. Put your hands up! The Glob tried to raise its nonexistent hand and wave. if you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it! if you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it! The Glob flopped about in the river in astonishment. If it had a table in front of it, It would have flipped it. ¡°This is a different plane? What the hell is a Beyonc¨¦? She is a queen! Why is a queen a singer? And where the hell is Earth?¡± The memories flowing into the Glob was unlike any he had seen before. A blue world populated only by humans. Many humans, their numbers uncountable. They build towering cities! They build metal homunculi out of glass and sand! They walked on the moon! They made ships that swim through the void! And all this was done without magic?! How wondrous! Stupendous! ¡°MUHAHAHAHA!¡± the Glob started to laugh manically. For the first time ever in its unlife, it managed to do a fully evil laugh sequence. ¡°Show me! Show me more! I need to know more! Bring me your Champions! Bring me your Kings! Bring me, Queen Beyonc¨¦!!!¡± the Glob thundered. Memories from earth started to be quickly devoured. The Glob was left shell shocked by the sights in front of it. Almost every commoner was educated. There were schools, universities and many temples of learning. Knowledge was freely shared and taught to all. There were no mages holding on to their teachings. All knowledge was free and passed down to everyone. Anyone could learn anywhere, at any time. The iPhone device and the information super highway allowed the commoners access to the collective wisdom of the human race. The former Demon Lord stood frozen in the middle of the light river. His mind was blown. The more he learned, the less responsive he became. A device that instantly accessed all the knowledge that ever existed and an almighty being the Internet that answered all questions. The Glob looked up the Internet in reverence. Knowledge at the fingertips of anyone who asked for it. Freely shared to all. The Glob was left very emotional when he learnt about this. If he had eyes he would be crying. ¡°Is this heaven?¡± The Glob knew the dangers of giving access to all information to everyone. Power shouldn¡¯t be so easily distributed. This was only possible in a world without magic. If this was done in his world there would be Demon Lords popping up left and right. But despite the dangers these crazy humans had done it. They created a civilization built on sharing knowledge. And what a civilization it was! ¡°Oh, great and powerful Internet! You are a fountain of knowledge! This one humbly submits to your wisdom! I don¡¯t have the iPhone device but please permit me to drink from your waters!¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The Glob gave a quick prayer before he frantically began to search about non-magic machines. How did they work?! Surely someone knows?! But to the former Demon Lord¡¯s dismay almost no one knew how to build these machines. Among the billions and billions of people, almost no one had a complete understanding on how the machines they used every day worked. All the memories he encountered now were filled with memes and pop music. Meme Review! Clap! Clap! ¡°Enough! I refuse to join the 9yr old army, Your highness PewDiePie, King of YouTube! I¡¯m passed the age limit already!¡± The Glob clutched his nonexistent hair in frustration, rejecting the umpteenth memory of a recruiter! How do all the machines work?! Does no one know? Is this world populated by idiots?! The Glob quickly dismissed that notion. That wasn¡¯t possible, almost all the commoners were educated. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe not all knowledge was shared. It was natural that the plebeians didn¡¯t know all the secrets that run their society! Yes! That was probably it! The Kings and Queens of these nations probably know a lot more! All he needed was the memories of few Kings and Queens. That shouldn¡¯t be that difficult! He had already encountered a King of YouTube and a Queen of pop. The Glob was convinced that he would have his answer soon enough. The Glob carefully combed through the memories for any hidden knowledge about the non-magic machines. It didn¡¯t want to miss any information that would assist in its growth. ¡°Infinity War- End Game. iPhone Object-C, Java, Marvel Comics¡± the Glob muttered under its breath as searched. ¡°iPhone Object-C? This again?¡± The Glob had encountered memories about this language once before, but had dismissed it as it always came together with some childish stories about Superheroes. Superheroes? Non-sense! They were mere hedge mages. Not true practitioners of the art! ¡°Object-C, Object-C. This is a complex language! A bit rudimentary though. But how is this related to the iPhone device?¡± The Glob dove deeper into the memories as he tried to learn Object-C. That was when he stood frozen like he was thunderstruck. This was the language of the machines. This was the language they spoke. ¡°This is the magic language His Holiness Internet speaks in. I must learn this language!¡± The Glob went delving into the mysteries of Objective-C, Java and C++. He learnt about engineers who spoke the machine language and wove spells into the iPhone Device. There was another device called the Android. It seemed that they were a rival faction that also practiced the arts. The two rival groups formed religious cults and was always arguing about on who was better. The Glob nodded to itself sagely, this was only natural. There were always competing schools of thought when the mages search for truth. The iPhone side seemed to be losing steam recently after the death of their Great Priest Steve Jobs! The Glob shook his head ruefully, they were all practitioners in the end. This petty war was meaningless. Steve Jobs and his team of engineers had built the iPhone. It appeared that Engineers were the ones that built the non-magic machines and physicists and mathematicians had formed the theories required for the machines to function. It was a complicated system that required people from multiple schools of knowledge to make. The schools of knowledge required to build these wondrous machines seemed unending. Even in engineering there seemed to be countless schools. Software Engineers, Civil Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Mechanical Engineers. The Glob finally understood the predicament he was in. The humans had grown too specialized. There were no generalized practitioners among them. To build these machines from the ground up he need multiple schools of knowledge which would take almost a lifetime to learn. His knowledge would be only be complete once he has had absorbed countless number of engineers and physicists from all schools of knowledge. The Glob shrugged in resignation. Comprehension would come in time. For now, he could only passively absorb the memories. Thus, the Glob floated leisurely along the river feasting on the memories of Earth. It steadily grew larger on a diet of memes and pop music. It binged on the latest hits of Sound cloud rappers and tick-tock memers. That was when it encountered politics. I¡¯m going to build the greatest wall and Mexico is going to pay for it. Donald Trump? What¡¯s a President? Looks like he is worried about Mexicans and walls. The Glob considered this carefully. They must be powerful enemies if the greatest country in the world finds them threatening. ¡°President King Donald Trump, it appears half of the country loves him and the other half hates him. This keeps getting stranger and stranger. Fake news?¡± The Glob came across multiple news reports that were directly contradicting each other. The Glob flopped about in anger. It couldn¡¯t judge which side was true. Fake news! The Glob was furious. Their entire civilization was built on sharing knowledge. Purposely posting misleading teachings seemed to be the very antithesis of that creed. What was that incompetent King Donald Trump doing? If Mexicans were a danger, he should declare war on them! And as for fake news, few beheadings ought to do the trick. The Glob was naively convinced of its extreme views as it kept munching on some more memories. Concepts like democracy and freedom of speech, just flew over its head. It couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of it. The Glob went back what it was eating before. These political memories were giving it indigestion. They weren¡¯t that tasty to begin with. Hit or miss! I guess they never miss! Huh?! The Glob flopped about the river copying the dance moves. All these experiences were completely novel to it. You have a boyfriend? Bet he doesn¡¯t kiss ya! The Glob splashed in the water with a clumsy attempt at a dab. Winter is coming. You know nothing John snow! The Glob was now humming the Game of Thrones theme song. Afterwards, the Glob went about finishing all the major Netflix series it could find. Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Westworld. ¡°Come with me, if you want to live¡± Badum-dun-Da-Den! Badum-dun-Da-Den! The Glob began to hum the Terminator Theme song. His Holiness Internet had sent an avatar in the form of a Terminator. The Terminator exterminated those who went against his Holiness teachings! The Glob happily went about rooting for the villain to win while watching the movie. Earth, this world was truly marvelous! The Glob let out a huge sigh as it basked itself in the beautiful river light. ¡°Incredible¡± the Glob muttered to itself watching all the soul lights that were in the eternal river. For the first time since it got here the Glob had taken a pause to comprehend the enormity of the sight that was in front of it. ¡°So many lights. So many lives.¡± Here lies the sum of the humanity of all worlds. Every ruler, every peasant, every sentient creature. Everyone flowed through here. ¡°Everyone.¡± the Glob intoned with finality ¡°Even every Demon Lord.¡± There was a soul light that was unlike the others. This one was different. This one was like him. This one was a Demon Lord. The Glob watched as the soul light slowly drifted towards itself. It drifted closer and closer, and finally flowed into the Glob without resistance. ¡°Asmodeus¡± said the Glob. Memories of the former Demon Lord flashed before its eyes. From birth to death it saw everything. The life and death of a Demon Lord. The Glob considered the tiny thing that floated within itself and thought back on all the memories it had seen. What is your worth? I¡¯ve had you weighed, I¡¯ve had you measured. and I¡¯ve found you wanting. The tiny soul light within the Glob was extinguished never to be reborn again. ¡°Sorry brother. You would have done the same. There can only be one King!¡± The Glob shook itself ruefully. He was the sanest one among the Demon Lords. He shuddered at the thought of his siblings finding this place. They would destroy everything and then argue over which one gets to rule over the ashes that was left. The Glob then went about ruthlessly hunting down every Demon Lord it could find. No matter what, he would complete this task. It searched high and low, hunting every demon lord he saw being slayed in the memory. With every kill, he could feel himself getting stronger. The hunt continued until he was sure he had exterminated all the Demon Lords that were present in the waters of rebirth. The Glob digested the memories of the Demon Lords slowly. This was the largest and most potent memories he has had acquired yet. He could feel his magic strengthening with every pulse of his inner light. Till now he had only grown in size when he fed on memories. This time it was different, his soul felt like it was about to ascend to a higher level. All the knowledge he had accumulated till now crystallized. Many things he had puzzled over in his research was clearer to him now. As the Glob went about solving the mysteries of the universe, its mind drifted to the [Presence]. What a mysterious creature! Clearly it wasn¡¯t alive but neither was it dead! It was a construct, but one unlike any he had ever seen. It had a very odd energy signature and its energy supply seems unending! Wait! Could it be? The Glob considered all the clues that it had placed before it! It used psychic attacks but had no mind! Its mental attacks had no subtlety! A brute force method! A body that¡¯s constructed out of pure mana. And all the above methods require a near instantaneous mana regeneration! If what he was thinking was true, then the [Presence] was a treasure that was priceless beyond measure. It was a paradox that couldn¡¯t exist. This was a treasure that he must have at all cost! ¡°I have stayed here too long¡± The former Demon lord stated quietly He looked around himself regarding the soul lights that surrounded him. He would¡¯ve liked to accompany the souls here a bit longer but it was time to go. He looked at the souls from earth with affection. What a beautiful world. One day, if possible, he would like to visit there. The Glob looked at the flowing waters in front of him and grinned. It was time to hunt again. ¡°Look out ya bastard! Im coming for ye!¡± Laughing, it took off, racing along the current of the water. The river seemed to speed up as he got closer and closer to the end. A roar of rushing water could be heard in the distance. The Glob closely scrutinized the river path ahead of him. The river seemed to end in the distance. The roar of the rushing water was getting louder as he got closer. ¡°Waterfall¡± the Glob stated grimly. The path of rebirth ended there. The Glob looked about frantically, he needed to find the [Presence] before he reached the end. The current was flowing too strongly now and it would be almost impossible to swim backwards. ¡°Come on, Come on! Come out ya bastard!¡± There was no time! The battle needed to be ended quickly too. There was no time! The Glob was searching frantically now. The river water felt cool to the touch. The Glob went on high alert, feeling the waters around him. It started to freeze over. The [Presence] was finally here. With a manic grin the Glob dove down the river again. It gathered all its light it had into its inner core charging it up. The light accumulated at a rapid rate boiling over the surrounding water from the searing heat. The Glob compressed the light as much as possible. Its entire body shook with the effort. It slowly turned and took aim at the invisible [Presence] feeling for the direction by instinct alone. ¡°Fire¡± A red hot fiery beam of light burn through the water as it shot towards the [Presence]. x-x-x-x-x-x-x The Glob unleashed a searing red-hot beam of light from its very core, blasting the [Presence] apart. An inhuman screech could be heard as something large and invisible crashed into the river. The giant light shook itself clearing its unsteady mind. The Glob could now see the [Presence] for what it truly was now that the chilling cold that was invading his soul had vanished. A huge writhing mass of shadows with tendrils of darkness thrashing about in the river came into view. It sent soul lights in the river flying as it raged about. The Glob rushed towards the [Presence] who was trashing crazily in its final death throes. The [Presence] was never invisible, it merely erased its existence from the minds of its victims. Only a being of extremely potent psychic abilities become aware of it, much less battle this creature. The trashing eventually died down as the [Presence] lost the strength to move. It lay still in the waters with a giant hole in its center. A crystalline core that served as the creature¡¯s heart was crumbling to dust. The shadows the surrounded the core was also turning into ash. The Glob quickly swallowed the core whole. The creature trashed about screeching. ¡°Not so tough now. Ain¡¯t ya!¡± The Glob felt itself freeze over when the Presence¡¯s gaze fell on it. All identities must be erased. Do not resist. This is the function. The Glob ignored the screeching and started weaving a spell. The spell was the most complex one he had ever attempted. He circulated the energies within himself as the spell took effect.The core from the [Presence] slowly fused with the Glob¡¯s core. The [Presence] screeched loudly. The alien creature boomed loudly into the Globs mind. Cease! Desist! This is not our function! The alien voice made it hard for the Glob to concentrate. The Glob¡¯s light flickered in annoyance. ¡°Quiet! We are making history here!¡± Cease! Desist! This is not our function! This is not our function! The Glob ignored the creature. He needed to finish this before it reached the end of the river. A cacophony of screeches could be heard. This is not our function! The Glob was getting angry. It was getting really hard to concentrate. This is not our function! This is not our function! This is not our function! The screeches grew louder and seemed to be coming from every direction. The Globs lights brightened in surprise. ¡°Nani!?!! Bakana!! ºÎ£¿¥Ð¥«¤Ê£¡There are more of you??!¡± It was shocked. This is not our function! This is not our function! This is not our function! ¡°Oh! Shit! Shit! Shit! ¤ä¤Ð¤¤! ¤ä¤Ð¤¤! ¤ä¤Ð¤¤!¡± The Glob circulated his mana at suicidal speeds. There was no time. His blobby body seemed to burn up from the intense energies. Several drops of light evaporated off of him. This is not our function! This is not our function! This is not our function! The [Presences] came rushing out, like a never-ending hoard. Their tendrils lashed about trying to destroy the blob of light. The Glob was tiny compared to the towering [Presences], they spanned nearly half of the entire river. The Glob dodged out of the many tendrils, dancing left and right, at the same time trying to maintain the spell that he was casting. This was a dance of death. But the Glob couldn¡¯t dance forever. Sooner or later he would slip up and the tendrils would catch him. The Glob dove down the river trying to lose the pursuing creatures. Unfortunately for the blobby Dark Lord, the creatures weren¡¯t fooled this time. Cease! Desist! This is not our function! The tendrils shot down penetrating the water like spears as they aimed for the Glob. Countless tendrils fell down like rain. Sonic booms were left in the water, where the tendrils had sliced through. The spears were everywhere closing in like curtains, shrouding the Glob in darkness. The [Presences] screeched. They were closing in on him. The Glob split few of the energies he was using and shot a beam of light towards the tendrils. He burned of quite a few of the tendrils and broke out of their encirclement. ¡°No go! Can¡¯t stay here!¡± the Glob jumped out of the river depths and raced towards the waterfall. This was the final gambit. The [Presences] followed him without missing a beat. Cease! Desist! This is not our function! Cease! Desist! This is not our function! This is not our function! This is not our function! The Glob was running out of energies now. If he used anymore, he wouldn¡¯t be able to complete the spell. The waterfall was getting closer and closer. This is not our function! Nearly there! Almost there! The tendrils were inches behind him now! This is not our function! A few more feet! The Glob glanced back desperately, seeing a tendril spear towards him! This is not our function! This is not our function! This is not our function! The Glob realized he is not going to make it! He can¡¯t dodge that spear. This is not our function! The Glob gritted his teeth! The final gambit! It tossed out the five heroes at the tendril spearing towards himself. He had held on to them till now. He didn¡¯t throw out the elf! No, he is going to use that one! The tendril slammed into the five heroes. There was a blast of explosion as the heroes and the [Presence] clashed. The explosion pushed the Glob towards the rivers end! He made it! The magic he had been casting achieved completion. There was a huge blinding burst of light as the two cores fused. ¡°YEAAAHH!!¡± the Glob roared in happiness, giving the most intense dab in existence. He had done it. Keikaku doori! Ó‹»­Í¨¤ê! All according to plan! He was the greatest! The ultimate! The most handsome! The most amazin¡ª A tendril flashed past, its speed almost impossible to measure, slicing the Glob in half! ¡°Arrrrghh!¡± the Glob screamed in agony as he felt his powers waning. ¡°Shit!¡± More tendrils speared through him. The soul of the elf he had been holding till now fell down the waterfall! The Glob screamed ¡°Damn you! Elf!!!!¡± It sliced the parts of itself that the tendrils were holding on to and dove headfirst down the waterfall! The [Presences] crowded around the waterfall, unable to follow. The Glob would have been flipping the [Presences] off if had any fingers. He had lost it all! All the accumulated knowledge he had! All lost! The Glob went on its rebirth filled with rage and regret! ¡°GOD DAMN! You ELF!!!!!¡± Chapter 2: When Life gives you elves. The six heroes. Just three words, such a simple sentence, but everyone in the system knew what those three words meant. Six heroes who died slaying all 72 Demon Lords and ending their cycle of reincarnation. Six heroes who united the separate races to end Demonkind once and for all. Six heroes who fought until their last breath to make sure all the Demons were dead. Six Heroes who became legends, immortalize for their sacrifice. There is a saying that killing a Demon Lord was easy, but making sure the stay dead is a whole other matter. The Demon Lords were curious creatures. There were always 72 of them present in every cycle and they were nigh unkillable. Even if one managed to kill one, another will be born inheriting the knowledge and skill of their predecessor. This was their racial skill, their ability to pass on memories on to their progeny. Killing even a single Demon Lord was considered impossible, so when the heroes managed to slay 72 of them, it was akin to seeing a miracle. There are some religions even today that worship the Six as messiahs sent to save the world. This belief was given legitimacy when no new Demon Lords were born since the Final War. They didn''t manage to pass on their memories. This further emboldened the masses into believing that the Six were sent by God. In the end all the credit of erasing the demon menace went to the Six heroes, when in actuality they fell under the squishy hands of a certain blobby Demon Lord. The continent knew peace at last since the Demon menace was wiped away from the face of the world. Demons terrorising the masses became a thing of the past. It became just a cautionary tale. One which you scare little children with, but that was about to change very soon. x-x-x-x-x ¡°AaaaHHHHhh!!!¡± A Vision Master in the Precog Institute of Science woke up screaming his lungs out! He gasped, trying to catch his breath while his hands white knuckled, clutched the sides of the pod he was meditating in. He ripped the breathing mask attached to his face, trying to get some normal air inside his lungs as soon as possible. Sirens rang through the building. Alert! Breach in Pod No 1! ¡°Get the medic!¡± A runner came hurried to the Vision Master with a clipboard and a water bottle. It was always best to get the vision fresh, as the subject tends to forget the details as time went on. ¡°Master Pike!¡± The runner skidded to a halt in front of the Seer and offered him the water bottle. The Vision Master Pike grabbed the bottle and quickly downed the bottle in one go. His eyes were still dazed, the vision still in the back of his mind. ¡°Another Vision, Sir?¡± The young runner asked excitedly. He was a new addition to the Institute and idolized Master Pike, the best Seer in the unit. He was responsible for preventing a lot of major crimes and several of them was deemed confidential, secrets of the highest order. The Vision Master was still in a daze. His hands shook as he stared into the empty bottle he held. The vision still swam behind his eyelids and the message he received was still ringing in his ears. ¡°Master Pike, Sir?¡± The runner asked uncertainly. This was the first time he saw the master so out of it. He was usually so calm and rational. Whatever this vision was, this was going to be big. ¡°Sir?¡± The young runner asked again, his hands on his clipboard poised and ready. He had to note everything down. This vision could possibly change the course of history. The runner gulped nervously, but kept his hands steady. He was determined to play his part. This could be a story that he eventually told his grandkids. He would say to them, that he was there when it happened and he played his part in making history. ¡°Sir!¡± The runner said sharply, trying to snap the Master back to the world of the living. The Vision Master looked up, his eyes were crazed and wild. He looked at the runner straight in the eye and said. ¡°Its coming!¡± The runners eyes widened, his hands flying across the page on his clipboard! ¡°What''s coming, Sir?!¡± The Vision master stared passed the runner and said in a hollow voice. ¡°There was a message¡± ¡°Message, Sir?¡± The Master''s eyes focused on the runner once again. ¡°It said it was coming! And there will be memes!¡± The runner¡¯s hands stopped dead on the clipboard ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°God damn you elf¡± the Vision Master cursed in a hush whisper. The runner had his mouth open, astonished at the story he would say to his grandkids. ¡°Um¡­ Should I file it under the report sir?¡± he asked skeptically. ¡°No, No! Alert the council!¡± Master pike said looking at the other pods that were lined next to his. There was a series of gasping and screaming as all the other Vision Masters woke up. They woke up from their meditation as though they were fleeing from a collective nightmare. The sirens rang continuously, as more and more Masters woke up from their pods. Alert! Alert! Alert! The runner stood there, shell shocked with the clipboard hanging limply in his hand, unable to comprehend what was happening in front of him. He woke up with a start when Master Pike¡¯s hand fell on his shoulder. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.¡°Alert the council¡± Master Pike said once again grimly. ¡°This is going to be a big one¡± x-x-x-x-x-x-x A confusing set of memories kept playing in the mind of the Demon Lord. He tossed and turned in distress as the memories kept on coming, playing in a continuous loop. His mind kept replaying the same set of memories over, and over, and over again. The loop never stopped. It was as though his subconscious wanted to sear these memories in its soul forever. It was the memories of his greatest failure. There was a river of light and he was drowning in it. His screams were muffled and muted under the water. There was a roar of rushing water and strange beasts. He was being chased. The Demon Lord struggled futilely. He was a prisoner of his own mind. His thoughts were muddled and his own memories were repeatedly fed to him by his subconscious. The Demon Lord had absorbed thousands of memories that could last a million lifetimes, but there was only one set of memories he kept coming back to. He was drowning in a river of light. The sound of the rushing water and his screaming rang through the night. Strange beasts of shadow and tendrils made of darkness rushed after him. His mind got more fragmented as the memories came rushing in. He had to get away¡­ The waterfall¡­ He had to get to the waterfall¡­ His mind got even more fragmented. His psyche teetered on the brink of collapse. Sounds of cracking glass could be heard as his memories began to shatter. He finally reached the waterfall. He was celebrating his victory. A tendril of darkness speared through him. He screamed in pain, and dropped the soul of the elf he was holding on to. The elf fell down the waterfall. He screamed in unimaginable agony as the tendril that pierced him, sliced him in half. The memory kept repeating in his mind in an endless loop. It played over and over and over again. He dropped the elf and the tendril sliced him in half. He dropped the elf and the tendril sliced him in half. He dropped the elf and the tendril sliced him in half. The memories cracked and broke apart. It shattered like glass and only bits and pieces of it could be seen. Even still, the memories didn¡¯t stop, it kept looping back to the beginning. The memory of his failure kept repeating in his head. The tendril of darkness speared through him. He dropped the elf. And then the tendril sliced him in half. The spear pierced through him. He dropped the elf. Then the spear sliced him in half Spear pierced him. Pierced him. Pierced ¡­. Why did this happen? He had planned for everything. The demon lord dove deeper down his memories to find the reason. He had to go back, even further back. Back to the moment of his triumph. The moment of his victory. The moment he lost it all. There was a blinding light as the two cores fused together. He felt a searing hot pain inside of him when he finished the fusion. He had done it! He had made the impossible into reality! He remembered the elation he felt at his achievement. He reveled in his success and celebrated his victory. That was when the tendril speared through him. He dropped the elf. And then he was sliced in half. He could still feel the searing flash of pain he felt after the fusion. It was stuck in his subconscious like a thorn unable to be pulled out. His mind was trying to tell him something. He had to remember. The fusion was completed in a blinding flash of light. Then, there was a flash of pain, near his core. He had gotten distracted. The spear pierced him. He dropped the elf. His mind was completely fragmented now. He could barely form a coherent thought, and yet he kept struggling. He had to know. He had to know the reason. That flash of pain that came after he finished the fusion, didn¡¯t come from his new core. No, It came from somewhere else. Where did the pain come from? He had to know. He dove deeper into his mind. His mind was shattering into a million pieces. The memories flashed before his eyes, flowing around him like a cloud of dust. He was drowning in memories. It flowed into his mind with unimaginable speed and ferocity, almost too fast to be understood. The fusion, the pain. The fusion, the pain. The fusion, the pain¡­. Pain! Pain! Pain! It was the pain that had distracted him, but it hadn¡¯t come from the core. The memories kept flashing before his eyes, repeating endlessly, continuously looping. Pain! Pain! Pain! The pain hadn¡¯t come from the core. It came from a tiny soul which he was hiding within himself. The soul was flickering unsteadily, almost like a candle on the verge of being snuffed out. Just as the cores finished its fusion, the soul woke up. It flashed bright with a white-hot intensity as it tried to get out of the grasp of the Demon Lord. This was the pain that had distracted him. The pain that came from a tiny soul. A tiny soul he had within him. Elf! He remembered the elf flashing white hot right after he finished the fusion. His hazy memory became clear as he finally put the final pieces of the puzzle together. Elf! He completed the fusion. The elf attacked him. The spear pierced him. He dropped the elf. And the spear sliced him in half! God damn you, elf!!!!!! ¡°I¡¯ll get you elf! If it¡¯s last thing I do! Son of a @&@. Toothless remaining @#$% of a horse shoved up your @&?! Filthy pieces of @&!@¡° The obscenities seem to flow like water from his mouth as the Demon Lord was reborn. He was dragged kicking and screaming in to the new world. "I can see the head." "You are doing great Mistress. The baby is here" "Now. Push! Push! Push!" "He is out. The baby is here." ¡°Son of a @&@. Toothless remaining of a horse shoved up your @&?! I will pieces of @&!@¡° The baby Demon Lord was still cursing up a storm but the only sounds that came from his mouth were the incoherent wailing of an infant. His eyes widened as he heard the cry of a newborn infant, every time he opened his mouth. ¡°Son of a @&@...¡± He paused in mid cry when he heard himself. His tiny fist shook cutely, as he began to throw another tantrum. The reality of the situation he was in had finally hit him. He was reborn, but he had lost all his powers. He didn¡¯t even have time to construct a new body and he would now be stuck in this ridiculous form for the foreseeable future. He has got a powerful set of lungs, doesn¡¯t he?¡± A blurry form loomed above him. ¡°He is so cute. Look! Look! He has got Vergil¡¯s eyes¡± ¡°Let me see! Let me see!¡± ¡°Arrrrgghh!!!!¡± The baby lord screamed incoherently at the blurry giant faces that were looking at him. He wasn¡¯t cute! He was a Demon Lord! Elsewhere, a thousand Seers and Vision Masters were left clutching their skulls as they felt a dangerous premonition pass over them. A great evil had come to the Sol system. The baby lord had come! The intense wailing of a new born babe could be heard within a birthing chamber as the former demon lord screamed out his frustration. ¡°Goddamn you, elf!!!!¡± Chapter 3: Feet of sand and Eyes of Glass ¡®Feet of sand and Eyes of Glass. You can take this Isekai, and shove it up your¡­.¡¯ -Baby Lord They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Vibrant and beautiful, they speak to you in a way nothing else can. It is a language without sound or words, but they can express thousands of emotions. Confusion being one of them. It was with such a pair of eyes that a certain Demon Lord woke up in a baby¡¯s nursery. The baby Lord had his cute face scrunched up in annoyance. This was the third time he woke up like this. Confused and alone, with no idea where he is. His tiny arms milled about as he tried to get his bearings. As he felt about, his hands came across something soft and comforting. By the fluffy blanket that he was swaddled in, he guessed he was probably in a baby crib. A pair of emerald green eyes darted about the room to take in the lay of the land. His eyes were wide open but he couldn¡¯t see anything clearly. the world around him looked like a washed out Van Gogh painting. He raised one of his chubby arms out in front of him only to see a blurry stump in front of his face. It got more and more hazy and washed out, the further away it got from him. The baby Lord scowled at the blurry appendage that was in front of him. Frowning with concentration he brought his hand closer and closer to his face, inch by inch. Slowly a chubby arm came in to focus. It was only when his hand was around twelve inches away from his face that he could see his tiny baby hands clearly. Five chubby fingers came into view. He carefully flexed them to make a fist. At the end of his wrist, he could see a yellow armband. It was probably something from the hospital. He considered his chubby little fist as he experimentally opened and closed his fingers. His hand was small and tiny with a healthy pink hue to it. They were the hands of a human. The baby lord was outraged. His hands shook with fury. This wasn¡¯t the vessel he desired. His hands continued to shake. The baby Lord looked at his shaking arms with morbid fascination. What was wrong with his vessel now? His tiny body didn¡¯t have the strength to hold up his arm for prolonged periods of time. Losing all the strength it had, it fell down limply towards his face. His own arm smacked him in the face with a loud thwack. ¡°Son of a @&?&@!¡± He cursed out loud. The baby lord flopped about in his baby crib cursing his lungs out, but the only sound that escaped his lips was the wail of an infant. He paused in the middle of his rant when he heard himself. That¡¯s right, he couldn¡¯t even talk yet! The baby Lord cleared his throat and carefully tried to enunciate everything he said. It wouldn¡¯t do for him to keep babbling like an ingrate. A proper lord should know how to speak. In a commanding tone he said shaking his fist. ¡°Fear¡­. Me¡­. Mortals!¡± He stuck his nose up in the air when he finished, trying to look as regal as possible. A garble set of nonsense words echoed about the room while he was sticking his nose up in the air. The baby Lord looked almost affronted. He wasn¡¯t used to failing so hard. Uncertainly, he tried again, saying few of his favorite words. ¡°Annihilation!¡± There was no change. ¡°Devastation!¡± He still sounded like a babe. ¡°Decimation!¡± Not only did he fail this time, he also started drooling from the mouth. His baby body wasn¡¯t used to performing such strenuous activity. It was no good, he had almost zero control over this primitive vessel. He began to curse once again, but this time he did it silently in his head. This wasn¡¯t how he planned his magnificent return. He flopped his arms about. He couldn¡¯t see. He could move his arms about a little, but he could see next to nothing. This was the worst. He couldn¡¯t think of a more aggravating situation than this. He was completely helpless. If he was attacked in this form he was in right now, there would be nothing he could do. This vessel was very inconvenient. He needed another vessel, pronto. Being locked in a body with no ability to move or see was a nightmare. He had to get out, before he did something crazy! He had to get a new body! There were various methods he could use, but most of the methods were done using dark magic and had severe side effects. It wasn¡¯t worth the cost and besides, all these methods were beyond his ability in his new baby form. The baby Lord¡¯s head began to heat as his mind ran a million miles a minute. A method, a single method, that was all he needed. He frantically searched for any other methods that didn¡¯t involve death magic. As he kept searching for a way out of his predicament, he suddenly paused and that was when it hit him. He had thousands of memories locked away within him. Even though he lost more than half of it there might still be some useful little dregs left. The Demon Lord dove head first into his mind palace. Thousands of confused streaming images flashed before his eyes. His head started to heat up even more. This was no good, all the memories are jumbled and mixed up. It will take an eternity to clean this up. It was like playing the ultimate version of a jigsaw puzzle, with billions and billions of pieces which you have to arrange in four dimensions. Seeing the countless pieces of memories floating about, the baby Lord¡¯s head started to burn up again. His temperature started to suddenly skyrocket! His eyes widened as he started to panic. Something was seriously wrong! An intense sensation of pain shot through his head. It felt like a nail being jabbed into his skull. ¡°Aaaarrggh!¡± The baby lord began to scream in agony. His entire head throbbed like an open wound. His head had gotten so hot that you could almost see steam rising from it. He could barely think straight and all his brain cells felt like they had been turned to mush. The baby Lord¡¯s head lolled to one side as he tried to process what exactly had happened. He groggily put the connection together. His brain was that of a baby. Babies cannot handle the processing power of an adult. Ergo De Facto, his brain got fried like an omelet! It could barely handle his thought process much less access higher memories. With such crappy hardware his state-of-the-art software was meaningless! The baby lord groaned aloud in his head. He was out of options now. He slowly reduced the processing power of his brain to tolerable levels. If he kept thinking in this high frequency state, he would eventually burn his own brains out. Slowly, he got dumber and dumber. He could physically feel every drop in his IQ. The world in his mind got darker, like a warehouse shutting down one light switch at a time. The baby Lord sniffed, he was literally in tears. He couldn¡¯t move, he couldn¡¯t see, now he would have to be dumber as well. Where was the justice?! If he ever found that elf again! He would... He would¡­ He couldn¡¯t even think of a retribution that was bad enough for the elf! All higher order thoughts were left under a safety lock. It would take a while if he wanted to access them again, but he figured getting himself stabilized was a higher priority. He grudgingly accepted that he had to work on limited capacity for the time being. He left only his battle instincts but shut down all other higher process thoughts. He silently laid there for a while bemoaning his fate. His abilities were limited and so were his options. If he had to get through this, he had to make the best of the options that was available to him. Baby or not he was still a Demon Lord. He still had his magic. It was time to find what his kid body could do! He stilled his breath as he laid in his baby crib. He laid both his arms above his chest and entered into a meditative mindset. His breathing slowed down as he took steady deep breaths. Very soon the outside world faded away. In the silence there was only him and his breath. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.Deep breaths. In¡­.. Out¡­. In¡­. Out¡­. Breathe in¡­. Breathe out¡­ ¡­.. ¡­.. Deep in his meditation¡­. his breath slowed down¡­. His thoughts slowed down¡­. His heart slowed down¡­. Ba Dum¡­. Ba Dum¡­ It kept beating slowly but steadily¡­. The baby lord was waiting¡­ waiting for a perfect moment¡­ it was no use to try chasing after it¡­ It was transient and ephemeral¡­. To see it, one have just have to wait¡­ In¡­.. Out¡­ In¡­. Out¡­. ¡­. ¡­. Slowly like a glimmering haze or a mirage in the distant, the baby lord felt the pull of his natural mana from his heart. It was tiny and minuscule, but it was still there. Slowly and carefully, he attuned himself to this mana signature. Lvl 0 -> Lvl 1 ! The baby Lord allowed himself a small smile. He could use mana now. He slowly circulated his mana through his blood vessels. It circulated throughout his body, slowly nourishing his growing body. The baby lord raised his nose in the air with pride. He had officially become the youngest mage in history. He was able to cast within two hours of his birth. Now that he had access to mana, he should probably check his affinities as well. He continued to circulate mana through his blood vessels. Affinities could be determined by watching were large pools of mana accumulate in the body. Depending on the locations and strength of the mana pool different skills can be accessed. The baby Lord slowly circulated his mana. It originated from his heart and then slowly flowed towards the rest of the body. Little pools of mana accumulated at all the major organs, slowly strengthening and nourishing them. He slowly directed the mana towards his lungs, stomach, liver and intestine. Bit by bit they all became saturated with mana. Those organs had reached their capacity. The baby lord noted all the areas were mana had accumulated in large quantities. He then slowly circulated the mana towards his four limbs. First the arms. The mana flowed through the muscles and tendons and finally ended in his fingers. The baby Lord retracted his mana when they also reached saturation. He then moved on to the legs and repeated the process. The mana that accumulated in his limbs weren¡¯t that significant. ¡®Looks like I¡¯m not going to be a front line fighter¡¯ The baby lord mused. The baby Lord steadied his breath. There was only one place to check now. He slowly and carefully channeled his mana towards his head. It flowed slowly, towards his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. The mana accumulated steadily. After that with extreme care he sent mana towards his brain. The baby lord worked steadily and methodically. He didn¡¯t want to overtax his already exhausted brain. His brain cells drank his mana like a parched desert. More and more mana flowed into his brain and very soon it surpassed all the other mana rich areas. It didn¡¯t stop there, the mana capacity seemed to be set at a ridiculously high value. It now held four times the sum of all the other areas! ¡®A Psion, huh?!¡¯ The baby lord mused. He projected his aura outward. It extended to about a foot from his body. He could feel the blankets that he was swaddled in. Concentrating on the blankets he gave it a mental tug. It flapped open. He gave out a mental cheer Now for something more difficult. He concentrated on the plastic yellow band he had on his hand. He had to be careful, he could crush his hand if he wasn¡¯t gentle. With his aura he felt for the yellow arm band and slowly lifted it. It slowly lifted in the air, dragging his arm along with it. His hand was raised above his head. He could puppet his arm anyway he wants to now, he thought in smug satisfaction! He did it! Just as he was about to celebrate his victory, he realized he had yet to commit the sacred ritual he learnt from earth. Carefully and reverently, He controlled his hands to perform a slow and intense dab to celebrate his success! What was the point in doing anything, if one couldn¡¯t dab on the haters! Huh! He snorted. Take that hand! That will teach you to smack me in the face! He raised his nose up in the air once again in smug satisfaction. He looked around himself, even through his blurry vision he couldn¡¯t see anyone in the room with him. It was such a shame. Surely there must be someone to see his momentous victory against the evil hand! Then again who would be worthy enough to witness him?! This was probably for the best. Seeing such awesomeness could be injurious for their health! The Demon Lord¡¯s delusions of grandeur seemed to have gotten worse now that he had become a kid. He didn¡¯t account for his childish nature when putting his higher order thoughts under lock and key. The baby lord seemed to have forgotten his failure at his earlier attempts at speech! He was continuously singing his own praises! His nose kept getting higher up in the air! If his head got even more bloated with his ego then he would have floated up into space. ¡®I¡¯m the best, I¡¯m the best, I¡¯m the best!¡¯ ¡®Oh-Yes! you are the best¡¯ He hummed a little tune in his head as he rocked his baby head back and forth. ¡®I¡¯m the best, I¡¯m the best, I¡¯m the best!¡¯ ¡®Oh-Yes! you are better than the rest!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m the best¡ª¡¯ A wailing of an infant interrupted him mid song. The baby Lord looked about in confusion. Did he just wail? He was pretty sure he had his mouth closed. Through his blurry vision he could see two nurses walking towards him carrying a baby wrapped in a bundle. The baby Lord finally understood where he was kept. He was in a nursery where they kept the newborns, right after being born. His mother was probably resting, tired after the birth. The first nurse kept the fussing babe in her arms calm, while the second nurse did her rounds, checking all the other babies in the room. The baby lord was astonished, there where other babies in this ward? He didn¡¯t even realize that! Finally the nurse came to his crib. She adjusted his open blankets, tucking him in and then walked towards the other nurse with the new baby. The baby Lord wrinkled his nose in annoyance at the child¡¯s wailing. Who did this baby think it was? The little twerp was moving in on his turf! ¡°There, there, little one.¡± Cooed the first nurse comforting the crying babe. ¡°Dora honey. Can you be a dear, and get me the WB?¡± The assistant rushed about to get the instruments in order. The baby lord could see her lift something silvery and metallic and placing it before the Head Nurse. The first nurse then placed the babe on top of the instrument and took careful readings off it. The baby lord gave the babe the stink eye. He huffed and turned his head away. He was better off meditating than worry about these petty humans. ¡°9 pounds and 13 ounces. My, My! You are a big girl, aren¡¯t you little Rosie?¡± ¡°Rosie?¡± The Head Nurse chuckled good naturedly. ¡°Her Mom had already picked out her name. Isn¡¯t that right, little Rose!¡± The assistant smiled as she handed over a stethoscope. The baby lord snorted, annoyed that he wasn''t the center of attention. He bet little Rosie couldn¡¯t circulate her mana! He went back to thinking various ways he could use his new found powers. He had to find ways to integrate his psychic powers with his previous skills. He went down the list of skills he had at his disposal, when he remembered his core. That¡¯s right! He went to all that trouble and he didn¡¯t even check it out. He sent a tendril of mana towards his core. ¡°Vitals are okay.¡± said the Head Nurse. The baby Lord wrinkled his nose again as his thoughts kept getting interrupted. He started inspecting his core again. He had stolen this core from the guardian beasts of the rebirth river. It had one primary ability ¡®Entropy reversal¡¯ With this core in hand he would be unstoppable! He tried to activate the core¡¯s primary spell matrix. To its annoyance it remained unresponsive. He needed a lot more strength to activate it. He tried activating it with only limited capacity, using its secondary arrays. The core lit up within him with a slight hum. The baby Lord looked up at the corresponding spell matrix. It looked like some form of kinetic control. He could combine this with his psychic abilities! He looked towards the two nurses and smirked. It was time for a prank. The Head Nurse was checking Rosie¡¯s heartbeat. ¡°Heart beat looks fine.¡± said the Head Nurse. Just as she was about to raise the stethoscope, the baby lord sent in a tight beam of sound at the end of the stethoscope. ¡°Beep! Bloop! Beep!¡± The Head Nurse looked at her scope like she was looking at a snake! The baby lord snickered. The Head Nurse check Rosie¡¯s heart beat again. ¡°Heart beat looks fine.¡± the Head Nurse said again. The assistant looked at her quizzically. The Head Nurse just shook her head. ¡°Just a headache.¡± The assistant nodded understandingly. ¡°We are really getting swamped today!¡± The assistant said as she quickly went through the instruments. ¡°Dr. Blyde is away.¡± The Head Nurse said absentmindedly as she quickly checked for Rosie¡¯s vitals. ¡°Why?¡± Asked the assistant incensed. This was the busiest part of the day. ¡°He is probably out trying to reassure the parents again.¡± The assistant gasped. She asked again in a hushed whisper. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s about the incident?¡± Incident? The baby Lord perked up his ears, now this was interesting. ¡°The baby snatcher?¡± Asked the Head Nurse. The assistant nodded her head fervently. ¡°I heard about that. A woman came in the ward and managed to run off with few of the newborns!¡± She put her hands on her hips looking affronted. ¡°How can someone do something so terrible? What a horrible person! Do you think it¡¯ll happen again?¡± The Head Nurse shook her head. ¡°No. Do you see this?¡± The Demon Lord craned his neck to see the Head Nurse pointing at a blurry yellow object. It was bound to little Rosie¡¯s hand. ¡°That¡¯s a geo tracking identity chip. The moment she leaves this facility, we will know.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Dora. That happened a long time ago.¡± The Head Nurse comforted Dora. ¡°It is only because of that viral video, that all parents are panicking everywhere.¡± Dora placed her hand on her chest to still her beating heart. ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± The baby lord¡¯s musings were interrupted when a slow moving mana pulse moved through the nursery to check its inhabitants. The mana pulse was so discreet that you almost couldn¡¯t sense it. He looked sharply at the entrance to the nursery to see a blurry form skulking around. ¡°Thank God! I was getting worried there!¡± ¡°Yes, Yes! Now hurry up and finish up.¡± The blurry form pressed itself against the transparent glass as it carefully looked at each infant, and finally its eyes fell on the baby Lord. The baby Lord gulped ¡®Oh, you gotta be shitting me!¡¯ Chapter 4: Lady in white, with jaws that bite. Even with his blurry vision, the baby Lord could feel its gaze on him. He felt a cold shiver pass through him as he stared at the figure standing behind the looking glass. The skulking figure had one hand resting on the glass with its face pressed right up against it. Its hot breath fogged up the glass making its face even more blurry. ¡°The rumors were true. She is here! The Baby Snatcher!¡± The baby Lord¡¯s heart was about to leap out his throat. You got to be kidding me! His hair stood on ends. The nurses were still continuing with their inane chatter. The baby lord could hardly hear them. Their voices were drowned out by his rapidly beating heart. Ba-dum! Ba-dum! This was the worst position to be stuck in. They had really caught him at a bad time. He couldn¡¯t move, He couldn¡¯t see. He had nowhere near the strength of an adult. His magic won¡¯t do him any good. Pulling pranks was fine but to get into a serious fight was out of the question. Even an ordinary non mage could beat him in the current state he was in. What to do? What to do? What to do? What was he supposed to do? BA-DUM! BA-DUM! BA-DUM! BA-DUM! ¡°There you go little Rose¡± The Baby Lord let out a choked gasp. He was pulled out of his panicked hysteria by the assistant. She brought little Rosie and placed her on a crib next to the baby lord. ¡°Your papa was just outside. He will come to see you soon sweetie¡± The baby lord had an incredulous look on his face. Papa? He looked at the looming figure outside the nursery. He was still staring, but the one he was looking at was little Rosie. He raised the hand that was resting on the fogged-up glass and gave a small wave towards his daughter. The baby Lord¡¯s heart was still beating rapidly like a run-away horse. His breath was coming in short gasps as his mind was coming to terms about what just happened. The assistant tucked Rosie in and followed the Head Nurse out of the nursery. The giant figure outside the nursery left together with the nurses. He had a few questions for the nurses about his daughter¡¯s health. The baby lord stared open mouth at the retreating adults. His heart wasn¡¯t ready for that rollercoaster of emotions. It was her dad that was outside. What was that crazy bastard doing sneaking around? He nearly gave him a heart attack. And what was he doing with that mana pulse! Where did he think he was? A warzone? The baby lord let out a big breath and then puffed his cheeks up. What was he doing? He nearly pissed his diaper. He was a demon lord and he should act like one. He deserves the dignity and respect reserved for a lord. A demon Lord would never be scared and neither was he. The baby Lord scowled as he laid in his crib. He projected his aura out of his body and focused it on his yellow armband. The aura lifted the yellow armband and it dragged his arm along with it. The baby lord moved his arm to point at the giant palm print that Rosie¡¯s dad left up on the fogged-up glass. The baby lord stuck his chin up imperiously. ¡°You will have to do better than that evil doorman Papa! You don¡¯t scare me!¡± He waited with baited breath for the other shoe to drop, but the only thing that greeted him was silence. Seeing nothing happening he let out a nervous titter. Ha! Take that! He wasn¡¯t scared! A demon Lord such as him wouldn¡¯t be so easily frightened. His rapid heart rate proved nothing. The reason for that is because of the intense workout he was doing projecting his aura, and it certainly wasn¡¯t because he was scared. He wasn¡¯t scared at all! Beep! Beep! ¡°Eeeeep!¡± The baby lord gave out a loud yelp and swung his head around to look at the crib next to him. Little Rosie was sleeping there peacefully. The beeping came from the armband that was on her wrist. The baby Lord through his blurry eyes could see the arm band on Rosie¡¯s hand changing color. It flashed white once and then turned into a light shade of yellow. It was completely synched up and tracking Rosie¡¯s vitals now. The baby scowled at the sleeping babe. First the father then the daughter. It seemed like this entire family was taking a piss out of him. The baby lord snorted, it was better to nip this problem in the bud before this escalates. He was the De-facto ruler here. King of Shawshank. It¡¯s time to show who exactly rules these halls. The baby Lords aura flared up. He spread his aura towards Rosie and poked her. The sleeping babe woke up with a start and her cute face scrunched up in distress. The baby lord completely oblivious to the situation, was trying to make himself look more impressive. He laid in his crib puffing his chest up. Just as he was about to dive into his villainous monologue, Rosie started wailing. The baby lord had his mouth open. This wasn¡¯t how it was supposed to go! Panicking he sent his aura towards the crying babe, trying to soothe it. The aura projected warmth and comfort. Rosie¡¯s eyes widened as the aura fell on her like a warm blanket. Her crying slowed down as she stared at the baby lying next to her. She couldn¡¯t see him but she felt his presence. Aura was a manifestation of ones will. Very few practitioners knew this but whenever you cast a spell you leave an imprint of your will in the spell. An undercurrent of residual emotion. Your words can lie but your aura cannot. It was the truest form of expression. Only a highly skilled practitioners can hide his intent from his aura. So, when little Rosie felt the baby Lord¡¯s aura, her fear vanished. She sucked her thumb as she stared wide eyed at the baby lord. ¡°See, nothing to be scared off. You are fine.¡± He tried to comfort the little babe. Rosie couldn¡¯t understand the baby lord¡¯s babbling but she could vaguely feel his intentions through his aura. The baby Lord seeing that things are going well puffed up his chest in pride. With his nose in the air he declared imperiously. ¡°You¡¯re in the presence of the great Demon Lord. You have my permission to feel honored!¡± He tucked his arm at the base of his neck as he laid sideways, facing Rosie. ¡°You seem to have potential, little babe. Consider yourself fortunate that you caught my eye. I¡¯ll give you the honor of being my first minion!¡± He tilled his chin up as he spoke those words. The baby Lord looked towards the little babe as though he was waiting for an answer. The babe seemed to be considering this statement. The baby Lord could feel her thoughts through his aura. Finally, her will seemed to project the feeling of rejection. The baby Lord had his mouth open in shock. In his previous life people would fall head over heels to serve him. Only one other person had flat out rejected him in the past. How many times did she make him beg, for her to join him? A flash of memory played in his mind. Auburn hair flying in the autumn air. Orange leaves falling in the wind. ¡°Stupid Grandpa!¡± ¡°Stop calling me stupid and I¡¯m not your grandpa. You brat. You are not worthy.¡± ¡°Fine then. I¡¯m going home.¡± ¡°Fine, fine. call me grandpa, Call me whatever.¡± ¡°Yeay!¡± The baby Lord could she her shadow in Rosie. Stubborn as an ox, the both of them. ¡°Oi! Oi! Oi! Do you know what you are saying?¡± ¡°Opportunities like this come once in a life time. Are you sure?¡± The feeling of rejection only intensified. An image of Rosie¡¯s dad popped up. ¡°Oi! Oi! I¡¯m much stronger than your dad. You got it backwards.¡± The baby Lord lied through his teeth. He pictured her Dad¡¯s large hands. They came crashing down and smashed him into a pancake! The baby Lord gulped. Rosie¡¯s rejection grew stronger as she sensed his wavering aura. Clearly, he was lying. ¡°Oi! Oi! You clearly haven¡¯t seen what I can do! Check this out!¡± He lifted one end of his blanket, with his mind and made it float around. ¡°See this is my Psionic abilities. I can move things with my mind!¡± Rosie was still looking unimpressed. The baby Lord began to feel the sweat on his forehead. What a tough audience! He had to bring out his trump card! ¡°This is my other special ability. Kinetic control¡± The blanket he was floating around now zoomed with a burst of speed. ¡°I can redirect Kinetic energy from one object to another object. I can also project sounds in one direction using this ability.¡± Rosie still looked unconvinced.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The baby Lord added desperately. ¡°I can also store the kinetic energy in the form of a crystal to supercharge all of my previous abilities! See?!¡± The baby Lord brought out a transparent crystal. It stood rotating in his palm, humming slightly as it absorbed the energy of the passing air currents. Rosie was still sucking on her thumb. She sent out her feeling once again. ¡°What? Mama and Papa are the most important?¡± ¡°Wait! Wait! I¡¯m not saying you should leave your Mama and Papa! I¡¯m just saying you should be my minion.¡± Mama and Papa are the most important she sent again. ¡°Wait, kid! I¡¯m just saying we should stick together. Prison life isn¡¯t easy kid. They have us locked in here for almost all or lives. Don¡¯t you want to be free?¡± ¡°It will be the Dynamic Duo, once again! What do you say Hera?¡± The baby Lord¡¯s eyes flew wide open as he heard what he was saying. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Rosie didn¡¯t understand what he said, she was still quite stubborn. The little demon won¡¯t fool her! The baby Lord sighed. ¡°Yes! Yes! Mama and Papa are the most important! I got it the first time.¡± He was silent for a while. Memories of Hera swam through his mind. From the beginning to the end. From the moment he met her to the day of her passing. He remembered the day she first called him ¡®Dad¡¯. He remembered the day, he gave her hand away in marriage. He remembered the birth of her first born, and the joy of being a grandparent. He remembered his first and only apprentice. He relived through them all, once again. A mana pulse moved across the room. The Demon Lord frowned at the interruption. A cold, frosty look was hidden deep in his eyes. His past memories seemed to have awakened a bit of his former self. He forcibly suppressed it, he didn¡¯t want to cook his brain once again. The mana pulse was getting stronger as the user was getting closer. It pinged across the room. The baby Lord frowned. Didn¡¯t Rosie¡¯s Dad have anything better to do? It was the same aura as last time. The baby Lord felt a chill going down his spine. His eyes narrowed. Wait a minute, something was off. He didn¡¯t notice it last time because he was so engrossed in the nurse¡¯s story, but he did now. He felt the aura behind the mana pulse. Emotion hidden in the will. Malice and ill intent. This wasn¡¯t Rosie¡¯s dad. The pulse never came from Rosie¡¯s Dad in the first place. It was someone else, all along. The door to the nursery swung open slowly. A blurry ghostly figure drifted into the room. It seemed to float in the air as it moved, slowly gliding across its surface. Long black hair seemed to flow along with it as it gracefully moved across the room. ¡°Naniii?!! ºÎ?!! She is real?¡± The baby lord gulped nervously. ¡®Oh shit shit shit she is here. Crap what to do!¡¯ No one told him the baby snatcher was a ghost! The baby Lord tried to access his dormant powers he had locked away. An intense, sharp pain came from his forehead. It almost felt like he ran head first into a wall. The ghostly white figure paused in its tracks, as it looked around the room. Seeing that it was alone with the newborns, it continued. From its long white sleeves, it pulled out a device, that looked like a gun and pointed at the one of the babies. A thin beam of red light fell on the yellow tag the babe had on its wrist. Seeing no reaction on the device she held, she drifted across the room checking the tags of all the newborns that were around her. The baby Lord desperately clashed head on against the barrier he placed on his psyche, but it held on stubbornly. A little bit of blood leaked from his nose. For the first time, the baby Lord was left frustrated at his genius level spell crafting. Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! The baby lords quickening heart beat had reached epic proportions now. His heart leaped to his throat. She was looking at the tags. She was after a specific baby. How did she get that device anyway? The baby Lords blood began to freeze over. What could he do? What options did he have? Fighting was out of the question. He had no chance whatsoever, in a head on fight. He glanced at the kinetic core that was in his hand. It wasn¡¯t charged enough to lift anything substantial. What to do? What to do? What the hell should he do? Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! The ghostly white figure drifted closer and closer to the baby lord. Each step it took sent a hammer blow against the baby Lord¡¯s heart. Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! What to do? What should he do? the kinetic energy he had accumulated till now was a minuscule amount and it certainly did not have enough power to hurl anything with higher mass. The baby lord was completely panicking now. What could he do? He could move things around but nothing heavier than his arm. He couldn¡¯t run away. He could only hope that the one she was targeting wasn¡¯t him. he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. The ghostly figure glided closer with each step it took. The baby Lord had only a few more moments left, before it would arrive in front of him. He cracked open one of his eyes to continue spying on the baby snatcher. Through his one open eye, he could see the white figure that was drifting across the room. The air around her seem to distort slightly. There was a hum of partially disguised magic around her. The baby lord could now hear the squeak of a pair of worn out combat boots. ¡®This distortion? That sound? Was this a glamour?¡¯ Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! The ghostly figure was very close now, it pointed the device at the babies that where next to him. The baby Lord gulped. There was no reaction. The ghostly white figure¡¯s head then turned slowly to face Rosie. The baby Lord¡¯s eyes widened. Quick as a flash, it sent a thin read beam of light towards Rosie¡¯s armband. The baby Lord¡¯s clenched his jaws and rapidly circulated his mana, readying his aura to attack. The device gave no reaction. The baby Lord was left clutching his heart. He didn¡¯t know how much more of this he could take. The blurry face of the ghost finally rested on the baby lord. She slowly raised her gun and pointed at him. Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! The baby lord was nearly wetting himself in fear. He gave a prayer in his heart. ¡°Not me! not me! not me! Your holiness Internet Sama. Please protect your apostle.¡± A red beam of light fell on the yellow band that was on his right wrist. The baby lord had trouble breathing. Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! Not me not me not me he silently prayed The device in the ghost¡¯s hands lit up in confirmation. Its target has finally been found! The figure dressed in white raised itself to its full height. it towered over the baby lord. The baby lord was in shock. It was here for him, after all. They were after him since the beginning. He looked at the yellow tag that was on his wrist hatefully. If it weren¡¯t for this damn thing. He would have never been caught. ¡°Damn you, yellow band. Damn you, yellow geo tracking piece of shit!¡± The baby Lord caught himself mid cursing! His eyes widened! Geo tracking! That was right this device was monitoring his vitals 24/7. So what if you found me! I just have to trigger this device. The baby lord drew himself up imperiously. He turned his head and pointed at the ghostly figure. ¡°You messed up little Ghosty! In your arrogance, you forgot who you were going up against!¡± The babbling of an infant filled the nursery. The ghostly figure stood stock still, shocked at what he was hearing. Newborns aren¡¯t supposed to talk! They were nonsense words but still, this was impossible! ¡°This is the end for you! Baby Snatcher!¡± The baby lord said imperiously with his nose in the clouds. His hand was still pointed at the white figure. The baby lord posed as hard as he could as laid in his crib. He had one arm tucked behind his head and the other pointed at the ghost. The baby Lord quickly masked the mana signature that was reading his heart rate. He sent out a different fake signal of his own. In it he made it look like his heart rate was increasing to unprecedented levels and then he finally flatlined his heart beat. The yellow armband¡¯s colors seemed to spasm by the sudden change in its readings. The tag¡¯s color changed as it recorded his deteriorating health. It turned white and started sending out a distress signal. The baby lord grinned. This was it. Keikaku doori! Ó‹»­Í¨¤ê! Everything went according to plan. You miscalculated baby snatcher! Consider yourself unlucky that you matched up against me! The baby snatcher was shocked seeing the band turn white. It quickly pointed the device in its hand towards the baby lord and fired. ¡®I don¡¯t think so!¡¯ The baby lord puppeteer his arm away from the red light. It missed him completely and hit little Rosie¡¯s crib. The baby snatcher shifted his aim and shot again. This time the baby lord couldn¡¯t move his arm away in time. The red light struck his band once again. The band seemed to freeze for a second and then quickly turn to its previous yellow color! ¡°Naniiii?!!! ºÎ?!!!¡± The baby lord eyes almost fell out of his head. His cute baby face had its mouth wide open. ¡°Baka na! Sona-hazu-ga-nai! ¤Ï¤º¤¬¤Ê¤¤!¡± He saw all his plans flow down the drain. He was done! Kaput! This was the end. This guy had connections directly to the hospital, otherwise he couldn¡¯t have hacked and disabled the device so easily! He was beaten from the start. ¡°Overida~¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t use his ultimate skill ¡®run away¡¯. Curse this infernal baby body. The ghostly figure stepped towards the baby lord. This was it! The snatcher was coming. He was going to get snatched! The baby Lord gritted his teeth together. No way! He wasn¡¯t ready to give up yet. It wasn¡¯t over till he says it¡¯s over. The baby lord looked at the kinetic core that he had in its hand. ¡°Action plan no 37. Do you know who my daddy is?!¡± The baby Lord tossed the transparent crystal towards the ceiling. It shattered and let out a loud siren which reverberated across the hospital. The other babes that were sleeping in their cribs woke up and started wailing along with the siren. The ghostly figure stumbled hearing the loud sound and panicked. It looked around itself. Was this a trap? Did they know he was here? The baby Lord played on the primal emotion every living creature had. Fear! Fear would let a twinge of doubt enter even the most stubborn minds. ¡®That¡¯s right! Get scared! This was a trap from the very beginning! There was that weird talking baby, the armband that suddenly got triggered, and now there was a siren that seemed to announce your arrival!¡¯ There were all these things happening suddenly without warning, and nothing was going according to plan. ¡®You must be scared stiff! In fact, you are probably even more scared than me now. That¡¯s right! Get scared, this is a trap! You are about to be caught!¡¯ The ghostly figure almost lost control of his glamour because of all these unusual events. In a haste the ghost stumbled on its feet, nearly crashing into the baby cribs as it made its escape. The baby Lord flexed his aura and sent shards of the Kinetic crystal after the figure in white. The shards phased right through the glamour that it had placed on itself. The baby Lord clicked his tongue, it really was an illusion. He controlled the shards to find the baby snatchers pockets. Majority of them missed but a few managed to make it through. The figure threw the doors open and ran. The baby Lord could feel the shards as it moved away from him. He had a faint connection to the shards and he could control them remotely in a limited fashion. This way he could keep track of the Snatcher. The baby lord laid in his crib basking in his ultimate technique. Runaway Ver-2.0. - Do you know who my daddy is! This time you don¡¯t run, but you bluff so hard that your opponent runs away. What a sublime technique! The baby Lord had its nose up in the air, as he slowly moved his arms in a familiar gesture. Just as he was about to finish his dab, he stopped himself. He frowned. ¡°This isn¡¯t over! Kore-de Owari-de Wanai!¡± That stunt he just pulled would not work twice. The baby snatcher thought that the sirens were meant for him. As soon as he realizes it wasn¡¯t, he would be back, and this time he would be determined to finish the job. ¡°Baby Snatcher?¡± The baby Lord cursed, remembering the glamour. This guy was no ghost. He was clearly a kidnapper. Two Hours old and already a kidnapping? Looks like his new family was loaded! ¡°Si vis pacem, para bellum. I¡¯ll be right here, Snatcher.¡± Chapter 5: The Doctor under the bed. A loud Siren was ringing across the hospital. The two nurses responsible for the newborns looked up from their work in astonishment. Without a word, both of them rushed to the nursery. They swung the doors to the ward open and looked around the room in worry. ¡°Where did that siren come from?¡± ¡°It sounded from somewhere close to here.¡± ¡°Quickly calm the little ones.¡± They went from infant to infant checking their vitals as they calmed them down. The Head Nurse reached Rosie and she tried the coax the babe to sleep. The baby Lord considered the facts. The Snatcher is going to come back sooner or later. He would have to solve the armband problem as soon as possible. The tag would keep tracking him and the snatcher would keep hunting him. He had to get rid of it. The assistant bent over the baby Lord¡¯s crib, It was finally his turn. ¡°There, there honey. It¡¯s ok. It¡¯s ok¡± the assistant tried to soothe him. The nurse was surprised looking at him. He was the only babe,who wasn¡¯t crying in the whole room. She looked curiously at the baby Lord. Her eyes widened as she considered a possibility. She snapped her fingers beside the baby Lords ears to check if he is deaf. The baby Lord flinched at the loud sound. Seeing this the nurse let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Well as long as you are okay¡± She smiled. The baby Lord was breathing heavily now. This was his chance! He raised his arm and desperately tried to show his arm band. He waved his raised fist, right under her nose. ¡®Look at the band.¡¯ The assistant didn¡¯t seem to notice the baby Lord¡¯s efforts. She gently rocked him back and fort ¡®Look, damn it!¡¯ The baby Lord cursed in his head in frustration. He had to get her attention somehow. The baby lord put his armband in his mouth, biting it. Surely this will get her attention. The assistant eyes widened when she saw what the baby in front of her was doing. ¡°No! No! No! you will swallow it¡± She tucked the baby Lord¡¯s arms back into the blankets and tucked him back into his crib. ¡®Shit! Shit! Shit!¡¯ The baby Lord was livid. He had to make them see! They had to see the tag! He looked towards the Head Nurse who was inspecting little Rosie. There has to be a way! The baby Lord¡¯s eyes fell on Rosie¡¯s armband. That¡¯s right! Her armband was the same state as his. He remembered the Snatcher missing his first shot and it hitting Rosie. Her armband also got struck too! Come on, he begged looking at the head nurse. Notice it. How many years have you been at this hospital? You are the Head nurse. Surely you would see something wrong. The Head Nurse examined the babe for anything out of the ordinary. She held the babe¡¯s wrist in her hand to check her vitals. That¡¯s it! You are right there! Notice the arm band! She gently rocked Rosie to sleep. Notice the arm band! COME ON!! The head nurse started tucking little Rosie in her blankets. Noooo! The baby lord reached for his kinetic power. It flowed through him like a torrent. Notice it! notice it! notice it! He Sent a pulse of sound towards Rosie¡¯s armband. ¡®Beep bloop Beep!¡¯ He looked expectantly towards the head nurse. ¡®Ma¡¯am Doctor Blyde is calling all nurses to attendance¡¯ The assistant said holding a walk-in talkie to her ear. The head nurse sighed and rushed out of the nursery. ¡°No! No! No! Nooooo!¡± Bleep bloop bleep! Bleep bloop bleep! Bleep bloop bleep! He sent the sound pulse continuously, trying to get the nurses attention. ¡®Come back here, Damn you!¡¯ The nursery door shut tight, leaving the children alone in the dark. x-x-x-x-x The baby Lord was panting loudly, his eyes wide. He had one hand raised towards the door as though he was trying to wretch it open. ¡°Shit!¡± He saw red. His heart was beating widely in his chest! He let out choked gasps, trying to catch his breath. What should he do? He probably had fifteen more minutes or so, before the Snatcher realized there was nobody chasing him. A flash of red gleamed in his eyes. The baby Lord could feel the snatcher moving rapidly away from the nursery, through the shards in his pocket. He looked at the yellow tag around his wrist hatefully. They seemed to be mocking him like his fate was inevitable. It clung to his hand, weighing him down. They felt like chains that tethered him to the snatcher. They bound him. The baby Lord was panicking now! What should he do? He bought some time, but the Snatcher will eventually be back. He will find him again through that tag reader. Red, red, red, the baby Lord kept seeing red in his rage. He raised his palm up and tried to form more crystals. The crystals formed with great difficulty. It looked muggy and opaque. It was barely holding on. ¡®Looks like I¡¯m running out of crystals too¡¯ He has hit his limit. This will be the last crystal he can make. One crystal. One final shot! He had no more turns left. This was the endgame. He needs to think of a way to get the Snatcher. The tags were the problem. If there wasn¡¯t something tracking him down, he could make his escape. The baby lord cursed in his head. Think damn it! He felt so slow. His mind was moving at a glacial pace. The limits he placed on his mind was still in effect. The baby lord saw another flash of red. He clicked his tongue in irritation. Where was that red light coming from? He scanned the room for its source. On the far side of the wall he saw a red dot that looked like it came from a laser pointer. That red color looked awfully familiar. ¡®This is hardly the time. Damn it!¡¯ He wanted to focus on the immediate problem in front of him. The Snatcher was the priority, but this red light was really irritating him.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The baby Lord craned his neck to see something below him. He looked down and saw a black object. It had the shape of a model gun. From its end a red beam of light kept flashing. The baby lord stared open mouth at the device lying on the floor. It was the tag reader! The Snatcher must have dropped as he made his getaway. A manic grin seemed to crawl across the baby Lord¡¯s face. He began chuckling. He laughed and then he laughed some more. Very soon, a delighted giggling of a child filled the nursery. ¡°Well, Well, Well! Now that changes everything!¡± x-x-x-x ¡°Mr. Steelburn, We are working as fast as we can!¡± The head nurse said as she tried to calm down Rosie¡¯s Dad. The burly man was pacing around in agitation. ¡°What was that alarm? It sounded like it came from the nursery.¡± His voice rumbled like grinding iron. He paused abruptly in front of the Head Nurse. Mr. Steelburn had his large arms crossed in front of his chest. He stared down at the diminutive nurse. He was a large man, though due to his age he let a lot of his weight go to his gut. He looked like someone who was in shape in his younger days. He had a thick set of beard and mustache and he looked like a muscled-up version of a Santa Claus. But right now, his face was filled with worry for his baby girl. The head nurse raised her hands in a comforting gesture. She was used to dealing with erratic parents. She could sympathize, she was a mother herself. ¡°Sir, please calm yourself. Your daughter is fine.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡± Mr. Steelburn rumbled unconvinced. He looked around at the rushing staff. His eyes narrowed, there was something definitely wrong here. A loud scream cut through the waiting room. The scream came from one of the nurses. She looked horror stricken at the monitors in front of her. The monitor which indicated the vital signs of the babies in the nursery all flatline. The machine let a high pitch beep indicating the death of all the newborns. The technician monitoring the device looked on in mute horror. For a few heart stopping seconds, the room filled with worried parents and hospital employees fell silent as they heard the flat line. ¡°The vitals of the children have flat lined! They are all dead.¡± Stunned silence greeted this proclamation. A bomb had been dropped on their laps! Heads of several fathers turned to the technician. ¡°What???!¡± ¡°The sirens came from the baby room after all¡± ¡°Quick! To the nursery!¡± ¡°Hurry!¡± The entire staff and parents rushed to the nursery. They moved like their family¡¯s lives depended on it. The moved in a frenzied dash towards their children. A ghostly figure in white stood stunned at these developments. He too followed the crowd up to the nursery. They trooped up to the glass windows to the nursery and looked inside. They looked shocked by what they saw inside. The place looked like a warzone. Instruments were broken, glass shards were laying, here and there. And a sea of towels spread out helter-skelter around the room. The only normal thing in the room were the baby cribs. The cribs stayed unblemished in the sea of chaos around them. It stood in stark contrast to the room like a placid immovable rock in a raging river. The crowd stepped into the room carefully. The concerned parents and staff crowded around the baby cribs to see the newborns sleeping peacefully. Their tiny chest rose and fell with every breath they took. ¡°What¡­is¡­this?¡± Asked Rosie¡¯s Dad, his eyes livid. ¡°Not sure.¡± Said a short man standing next to him. He flipped open a switchblade out. ¡°But I think I have to start carving out some eyes.¡± The baby Lord looked at the chaos around him with satisfaction. He puffed himself with pride. The moment the Snatcher had lost the tag reader, he was finished. Till now he worked in the cover of darkness. He skulked around did his dirty deeds with none the wiser, But not anymore. ¡®I¡¯ve dragged you into the light, you bastard.¡¯ He thought looking at the crowd of very angry fathers around him. The men around the room were trying to stay calm not wanting to disturb their sleeping children but just underneath the surface, you could see their boiling rage just about ready to erupt. ¡®Try and get me through them. They will tear you apart you little shit.¡¯ The baby lord looked at the ghostly white figure standing in the corner of the room. ¡®You have nowhere to hide anymore. Isn¡¯t that right Dr. Blyde?¡¯ The baby Lord could see the blurry flapping white coat around the snatcher as he stared around the room trying figure out his next move. ¡°Your Angelo, right? From Brittle Town.¡± A rumbling voice broke the baby Lord out of his reverie. ¡°Steelburn.¡± The little man replied shortly He still had his knife as he scanned the rest the room. He had small beady eyes. And a scar running across his left eye and slightly protruding jaw. His smallish face gave him look like a rat. ¡°So, that¡¯s Vergil¡¯s kid, huh?¡± The big man stared down at the Baby Lord. The baby Lord gulped and pretended to sleep. Better to let sleeping dogs lie. ¡°Ahh!¡± Angelo grunted again. His hand was twitching across his blade. He really wanted to stab something. The burly man stared down at the rat faced Angelo. A shadow fell over his eyes. His hands moved like a blur and grabbed Angelo by the neck. ¡°Angelo¡± He said softly, with barely control rage. ¡°Tell me, you didn¡¯t cause this. Tell me you didn¡¯t bring this misfortune to my family¡¯s doorstep¡± Angelo¡¯s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. His hands still clutched his knife. He brought the blade in a swift motion and sliced into the giant¡¯s forearm. With his other free hand, he grabbed his gun in his coat and pointed at the burly man. Steelburn eyed the gun but made no move to stop him, he didn¡¯t even flinch when he was stabbed. ¡°Steel, you may want to keep your camp neutral. But sooner or Later you¡¯re gonna make a choice. This assassin won¡¯t be the last.¡± There was a click as the gun¡¯s safety was turned off. The two men stared each other down. The air was charged like gunpowder. Then suddenly as they attacked, they raised their arms away from each other. Steelburn removed his arm from Angelo¡¯s neck and Angelo returned his gun back into his coat. No one among the surrounding crowd noticed their little exchange. It happened too quickly. Only the baby Lord stared open mouth at the display. ¡®Assassin?¡¯ He thought mutely. The burly man looked at the baby Lord again. ¡°So, Vergil not here to look at his boy? He missed the birth of his own son?¡± Angelo rubbed his neck and said in a raspy voice. ¡°All Father summoned him.¡± Steelburn looked at Angelo. ¡°Tell Vergil, that we will remain neutral. We won¡¯t be interfering in your family feud.¡± Angelo just looked pointedly at Steelburn, he had already said his piece. The baby Lord looked back and forth at the bizarre exchange. Family Feud? This doesn¡¯t look good. He really hoped this assassination attempt won¡¯t be a daily occurrence. ¡®Wait, Assassin?¡¯ The baby Lord thought vaguely. His eyes widened. ¡®Assassin?!!¡¯ His breathing got frantic. He was always under the impression that he was going to be kidnapped. Never in a million years did he consider that the good doctor was here to snuff him out. The baby lord scowled at the skulking figure. ¡®Well, I suppose, I shouldn¡¯t insult Dr. Bylde. You are merely wearing his face¡¯ ¡®Dr. Blyde¡¯ was going around checking in on the infants. He brought out the stethoscope out of his pocket and checked the heartbeats of the newborns, all the while he kept a close eye on the baby Lord. The baby Lord eyes went wide. ¡®You bastard! I know your little scheme! I know, what you are up to! You¡¯re going to pretend to examine me and then give me an injection of poison, aren¡¯t you? All under everyone¡¯s noses! It seems I didn¡¯t scare you hard enough. You grew some balls!¡¯ The baby Lord looked at his crumbling crystal he had in his hand which he had used to mess up the room. His internal mana supplying was hitting rock bottom. He was all out of gas, but yet he was still confident. The baby Lord¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡®It was fine when you played your game in the dark, but here things are different. This is your last chance Snatcher. I got no mana, no crystal, no nothing, and still I¡¯m not worried at all! There are people who managed to screw with me once, but they never get a chance to do so again. You still have time. You can still run. You tried to kill me. I can let bygones be bygones. But, If you come to offer your head to me, on a silver platter then it would be remiss of me not to accept! So, what¡¯s it going to be? life or death? Choose!¡¯ The Dr. slowly made his way towards the baby Lord. All the while keeping up his pretense on checking the infants. He glided across the room and finally reached the baby Lord. ¡®So, you choose death after all¡¯ ¡°Mr. Steelburn, Mr. Veinmar.¡± The Snatcher began, but Angelo raised his hand to cut him off. ¡°Veinmar isn¡¯t here. I¡¯m a stand in¡± The doctor put his stethoscope on. ¡°Ahh! I see.¡± He looked at the baby Lord. ¡°Now young Veinmar. Let¡¯s have a look at you¡± He placed the stethoscope on the baby lord chest and pretended to listen to his heart beat. The Snatcher put a ponderous look on his face. The baby Lord eyes narrowed. He let out a small chuckle. ¡®Well, someone is looking to win an Oscar!¡¯ The doctor put on a shocked look on his face. ¡°Mr. I¡¯m afraid I have some grave---¡± ¡®grave what?¡¯ The Snatcher was interrupted in mid-sentence when the baby Lord grabbed his stethoscope. Dr. Bylde¡¯s eyes were wide as saucers. Who was that? Who spoke? It felt like it came right from inside his ear. ¡®Where are you looking at? Down here, You little shit!¡¯ The snatcher looked incredulously at the babe below him. Angelo and Stellburn were looking at the doctor with narrowed eyes, but he was too engrossed with the babe to notice. ¡®So? Did you have fun playing doctor?¡¯ The Snatcher¡¯s face twitched. The baby¡¯s snarky voice made him want to scratch his ears out. In fact, he had been feeling a constant itch in his ears ever since he wore the stethoscope. ¡°Feel like scratching your ears, huh?¡± The baby lord asked in mock concern. He was still grabbing on to the stethoscope. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I just left a little present in your pocket. They should be nicely charged, thanks to all the running that you have been doing¡¯ The snatcher looked shocked. He immediately made to take off his stethoscope. ¡®Too late! Shi-ne, Ba-ke-Yaro!¡¯ The baby lord sent his last dregs of his mana up the stethoscope to his ear canal, where the shards of kinetic crystals were present. He tried to rip the stethoscope from his head, but it was too late! The shards activated! A loud siren blasted directly in his head. The snatcher, screaming clutched his skull in agony. ¡®You had the shards in your pocket this whole time. I merely pushed them into your stethoscope.¡¯ Blood leaked from all of Snatcher¡¯s orifices. They sprayed from his eyes, nose and mouth. The blood coming out of his own mouth was choking him. The snatcher was screaming his head off. He lost complete control of his glamour. Dr. Bylde disappeared as the illusion from the Snatcher faded. The baby Lord raised his arms above his head in a familiar gesture. ¡°Keikaku doori! Ó‹»­Í¨¤ê!¡± The baby Lord made a slow intense dab without taking his eyes off of the screaming Doctor. ¡°All according to plan!" Character sheet & Update Schedule Character sheet
Character Description Chapter
Baby Lord Your Supreme Leader, enuff said! 1
Elf Baby Lords greatest nemesis. She was part of the 6 Heroes who slew all 72 Demon Lords. 1
Master Pike Vision Master in the Precog Institute of Science. Currently suffering from PTSD from anything relating to memes. 2
Runner New Employee in the Precog Institute of Science. Young, family guy. Very worried about the stories he would tell his future grandkids. 2
Vergil Baby Lords father. Has similar eyes to the baby Lord. 2
Head Nurse Works in the hospital baby Lord was born in. Kindly older woman. The baby lord was under her care when he was stuck in the hospital nursery. 3
Dora Assistant. Works in the hospital baby Lord was born in. Fast talker. Very enthusiastic about children. 3
Rosie Baby girl. 9 pounds and 13 ounces. Baby Lord¡¯s cellmate. 3
Dr.Blyde 3
Baby Snatcher ??? 3
Mr.Steelburn 5
Angelo 5
All Father
Chapter 6 ¡°Quickly get the madam¡¯s car!¡± ¡°Kora! What are you dipshits doing? Get the car moving!¡± ¡°Less talking and more working!¡± ¡°Move your ass, ass wipe!¡± The baby Lord saw a flurry of movement in front of him as he entered the underground parking lot. There were men in bald heads and black suits carrying machine guns, hurrying about as they got his car ready. He was bundled up in his mother¡¯s arms who was hugging him closely to her chest. Angelo was escorting the both of them, his beady little eyes ever vigilant. Seeing the three of them arrive the group of men paused what they were doing, and bowed towards them in unison. ¡°Greetings Mistress Veinmar, Greetings young master.¡± Their loud voices reverberated through the parking lot. They bowed respectfully, their torso''s bent to an almost ninety-degree angle. The baby Lord¡¯s mother raised one gallant hand upwards to stop them. ¡°Get back to what you were doing. Get the car ready, quickly.¡± ¡°Yes Mistress.¡± The men spoke once again in unison. They quickly went back to securing the parking lot and getting the cars ready. Angelo went forward and started ordering them. He wanted to leave this enclosed vulnerable position as soon as possible. ¡°Secure the entrance. Check the ventilation duct. Milo, Melo check the far end.¡± The men jumped to attention and went to complete their tasks. They quickly checked the areas Angelo had pointed out, with their machine guns cocked and ready. They carefully checked under the cars and the various pillars in the parking lot, leaving no stone unturned. The baby Lord looked approvingly at the efficient way they completed their work. Furthermore, he liked the uniformed black suit and matching bald heads. They make for excellent minions. Looks like his luck was finally turning around! Other than the assassination attempts this family wasn¡¯t so bad! The baby Lord turned about and fidgeted in his excitement which his mother mistook as distress. ¡°It¡¯s okay, sweetling! We will be going home soon.¡± The baby Lord looked up at his new mom. She was smiling down at him lovingly. The baby Lord blinked his large eyes in confusion when she raised him up and gave him a kiss on his forehead. She then began rocking him to sleep. The baby lord averted his eyes, not knowing how to deal with this situation. He was tired and overwhelmed. The last few hours had been crazy. He was born, and then he was targeted for assassination. While he did manage to take out his assassin, it was only now he was dealing with the fatigue of undergoing such a horrendous ordeal. After all that, he didn¡¯t even get a pause to rest, and now he had to deal with being adopted into a whole new family. He needed some time to process all of this. His mom was still gently rocking him back and forth. His mother was a portly woman, quite on the plump side. She was neither ugly or excessively pretty, but she had a refined and stately aura. Every gesture she made was elegant and graceful. It¡¯s as if nothing would crack her placid demeanor, but the baby lord knew that was not true. He had seen the other side of his mother. The baby Lord didn¡¯t know what to make of the woman. At one minute she was sweet and kind but at the next moment she was yelling obscenities at someone. She had got into an argument with another pregnant lady. By the end of it she looked like she was ready to roll up her sleeves, and beat up the other lady like a thug. The incident happened after the Snatcher was apprehended. All the pregnant ladies and their newborns were brought together and placed in a safe room, while the staff and security personal dealt with the situation. The Police were called and they were on their way, but Mr. Steelburn and Angelo had other ideas. By the time they were done, Snatcher had double the amount of bones he came in the hospital with. Currently, he was laying tied up in the trunk of one of the family cars. While the baby Lord was stuck in the safe room with his mom, all the ladies gathered together to talk. Things were going pretty well until they came to the subject on whose baby was cuter. One of the ladies had the audacity to say that the baby Lord had large ears. His mom then spat at the woman with such venom and vitriol that the woman was surprised. She then continued to berate the woman¡¯s entire family. She had already reached the 7th generation of her ancestors when the other ladies had pulled them apart. The baby lord had nodded in approval, it was nice being defended so vehemently. It felt good. Unfortunately, it was Rosie that was finally voted in as the cutest. Even the baby Lord had to reluctantly agree, that Rosie was cuter than he was, seeing how she managed to completely charm all of the new mothers. He snorted, trying to convince himself that this little bit of loss didn¡¯t matter in the grand scheme of things. The baby Lord remembered she had also rejected his offer to be his first minion. The demon Lord could sense she had a special power. He couldn¡¯t tell what it was right now, but he could feel her power set was unique. He tried to mend his bruised ego by thinking that he can definitely get back at her when he finally achieves world domination. He will hold a beauty pageant for all his minions and make sure her invitation gets lost in the mail! ''Ha! that will teach her!'' He was happily going about his daydream about his minion beauty pageant as he watched the bald men in suits go about their work. He saw himself in the judging panel looking at his imaginary minions. They were buff, they were bald and they were now doing cute baby poses! The baby lord shuddered, trying to erase what he saw from his mind. That was dangerous! There is an old saying that one must be careful what they dream during the day, because they might come true. Shuddering, the baby Lord shook himself awake. He was still in his mother¡¯s arms being rocked gently. ¡®Who is going to be my first minion?¡¯ He thought to himself sullenly. The baby Lord absentmindedly reached for the ambient mana in the air to replenish his parched aura. He had used a considerable amount during his fight with the Snatcher. He reached for the mana in the air but he found none. ''How odd?" he thought to himself. He carefully scanned his surroundings. The men in suits were going about their security check. It looked like they were nearly finished. The baby lord tasted the air around him. It seemed lifeless and sterile. The magic he felt naturally in the air in his previous life was absent. "Interesting." He quietly mused. The men in black suits had finally finished their preparation. Seven identical black SUV''s arrived in front of the baby lord. Their powerful engines roared with life. The baby Lord noticed that the cars didn¡¯t have any wheels and where stably hovering few inches above the ground. With their engines running, they looked sleek and deadly. Angelo opened the car door for his mother and quickly ushered them in. Just as they were about to get in the car, the baby lord noticed something through the corner of his eye. A body was lying lifelessly in the shadows of the parking lot. The smell of copper and iron invaded his nostrils as the bloody corpse was dragged away by one of the men in suits. ¡°All clear.¡± The bald man said into his headset. The baby Lord gulped. Another assassin? Looks like his new life won¡¯t be filled with sunshine and rainbows! This family was crazy! The baby Lord and his mother got into the car, and Angelo followed in after them. The inside of the car was wide and luxurious, with seats that looked like plush leather sofas. Two soft seats the size of benches where place facing each other. The entire passenger section was closed off from the driver¡¯s section by a partition. On the partition was a tiny window which at this time remained closed off. Sitting on one of the seats was a smiling blonde girl in a maid''s outfit.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Mistress Ana¡± she greeted excitedly. Mrs. Veinmar Seated himself on one seat while Angelo seat herself on the opposite one, beside the maid. The baby lord looked at the maid. She was a cheery young lass with golden hair that was tied behind her head in a bun. She had a cute button nose and slightly pointed ears. Her sky-blue eyes twinkled brilliantly, matching the radiant smile on her face. She cooed softly when she saw the baby in her madam¡¯s arms. ¡°Young master!¡± She exclaimed delighted. Angelo shot her an annoyed look. He looked across at Mistress Veinmar. ¡°Ma¡¯am?¡± She smiled and gave a small nod. Angelo rapped the partition separating the passenger and driver compartment with two loud knocks. The small window in the partition slid open. ¡°Set a course.¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± The driver replied. The partition slid shut as the engine purred to life. The seven cars engines revved up as they prepared to set off. ¡°We are in an awful rush! Assassins are here? Shouldn''t we wait for the police?¡± The maid asked her questions in rapid fire. The words shot out of her mouth like bullets from a machine gun. Angelo winced, hearing her loud and fast talking. He shot her another annoyed look. "No, Millie." said Mrs. Veinmar with an enigmatic smile. "Where one assassin appears, the others will soon follow. As for the police, they can have their questions answered at our home." As though to punctuate her statement, muffled groans came from the trunk of the car where the Snatcher was tied up. The maid Millie looked at the baby Lord with concern. "I hope the young master wasn¡¯t hurt! Does he need anything? Food? Water? Air?" Angelo snorted at the young maid''s ignorance. "He will be fine. I gave him some milk. He is too tired now to drink anymore." The baby lord clenched his jaws as he remembered his humiliation. Being treated like a baby and an invalid was getting really grating. When he saw that it was feeding time and he will soon be forced to drink milk, he deliberately put his soul to sleep. His adult consciousness went into sleep mode and only his baby brain controlled his body. This way he avoided any mental scarring. The baby Lord sighed forlornly. It looks like he will be using this method a lot, considering the situation he was in. Outside, the baby lord could here several doors being slammed shut as all the men in suits got into the other cars. The engines of the hovering cars roared to life as the randomized route taken to the Veinmar household was planned and prepped. The seven SUV''s adopted a staggered formation with the Veinmars in the center, as they drove off out of the parking lot. The baby Lord''s car was kept in the most protected part of the formation. The underground lot was connected to the surface through a tunnel. The tunnel was already cleared of traffic for the Veinmar''s departure. The seven cars drove through the tunnel for about a minute till they finally got to the surface. Light was streaming in as they approached the entrance. As they left the parking lot into the sunlight, the baby lord felt a sudden feeling of apprehension and excitement. He was finally out of that hospital and out into the real world. He was giddy with excitement. He wanted to know how much the world had changed since his absence. There was significant increase in the level of technology, so he was definitely in the future. The real question was how far into the future he had come. There was sudden increase in gravity as the car lurched upward. The direction of the sunlight changed and it threw the lighting in the car into sharp contrast. The shadows in the SUV grew and shrank as the car changed its direction. Angelo gave a sharp knock on the partition between the compartments in the car. The small window in the partition slid open, and the face of the co-pilot appeared before Angelo. ¡°Tell Mario to ease up on the assent. We got a kid on board.¡± ¡°You got it boss man.¡± He gave a thumbs up and slid the window shut. The baby lord craned his head trying to take a look outside the window. He really wanted to know what was going on outside. He had been stuck in that stuffy hospital for way too long! It''s time to check out the domain he would eventually rule! ¡°You want to look outside, munchkin?¡± His Mom asked lovingly. She then raised him up to the window, giving him a better look at the scenery outside. The baby Lord''s eyes widened. They were flying! The seven vehicles were surrounded by clouds, which spread about them in a dense sea of white. Slight turbulences could be felt as the cars skimmed across the clouds as they looked for place to safely exit. The white sea stretched on for quite a while until the cars came across a small section were the city scape could be seen below. The seven made a beeline for that section. The seven cars tore through the cloud layer with ease and followed through a route with more clear visibility. The sights around the sky was clear now with only a few patchy sets of clouds following the vehicles. Streaks of jet streams were left behind as the cars zipped through the sky. He could make out through his blurry vision several avian creatures chasing each other up high in the sky. Down below was a sprawling metropolis. There were also other flying cars in the sky, but they gave the seven black SUV''s a wide berth. The seven monstrosities flew with the grace of an eagle cutting through the sky with predatory grace, leaving small jet trails around their edges. The baby lord shook his tiny arms in excitement. ''There were flying cars! This was awesome!'' This was something that everyone on earth wanted to see. The baby Lord was also influenced by their aspirations and was thrilled to see their dream become reality. This was a man¡¯s romance and he got to see it firsthand. The baby lord entertained the possibility that he was on earth, but then he quickly dismissed it. Their planar rules did not allow mana and magic to exist. This was something different. He was still in his old plane he was quite sure if that. It was just that he had been transported far into the future. But how far? That was the question. Mom brought him down from his raised perch and hugged him back into her bosom. ¡°He is quite an active little guy, isn¡¯t he?¡± Millie said looking at the baby lord curiously. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a baby this young so active before!¡± Mistress Ana raised her nose in the air with pride. ¡°That¡¯s because he is my little baby boy, of course. He is the best!¡± The baby lord looked up at his mom in new light, feeling sudden feeling of closeness. The baby lord turned his head away from his mother and gave a cute little snort. ¡®Well I suppose you are worthy to be my mom after all.¡¯ The baby lord still had his head turned away. He learnt it the hard way that trusting humans wasn¡¯t without its dangers. These humans were tricky, its best to stay on guard. The baby lord once again reached out to try and replenish his parched mana supply to find the air devoid of any ambient mana. He clicked his tongue. He thought ponderously while being rocked gently back and forth by his mom. ¡®Why is there still no mana in the air? Were they staying in the middle of nowhere? Or were they living at the edge of a null zone?'' In any case it is best to portion his mana carefully from now on. It looked like his powers will be handicapped till he finds a better source of mana. The baby lord grimaced. He really didn¡¯t like being left vulnerable like this. There will probably be many more Snatchers coming after him, considering how insane his new family was. He had a good idea what his family did for a living but he was keeping his fingers crossed that he was wrong. Snatchers and assassins will be the least of his problems if what he was thinking came true. Thinking of the snatcher he realized something odd. The snatcher never used any basic protective measures. Not even a basic mana shield. ''Was the education in this place so lax? Not even the fundamentals where used!'' ¡°Doesn¡¯t he look cute?!¡± he heard Millie''s cherry voice. ¡°The young master looks like he is in deep thought!¡± His mom just smiled contentedly as she continued to rock him to sleep. The baby lord paused himself in mid thought when he realized something. ''Wait! Activating an aura shield in a zero ambient mana environment, isn¡¯t exactly a good idea! Don¡¯t tell me mana shortages are so severe? Is there no place to recharge?'' The baby Lord gave a quick scan around himself. His mom was still rocking him back and forth. Millie was fidgeting about the car, occasionally giving him a glance. Angelo kept his focus outside the car, keeping his eyes peeled for any dangers in the sky. The baby lord gave out a quick mana pulse to check the inhabitants of the car. His mom and Millie remained oblivious, but Angelo''s eyebrows gave a small twitch. His beady little eyes slowly scanned the room. The baby lord gave a gulp and pretended to go back to sleep. ¡®Nothing to see here! Just an innocent baby here!¡¯ After a few seconds, the baby lord cracked one eye open to look at Angelo. He had gone back to looking out of the window. The baby lord frowned. This was getting curiouser and curiouser. Looks like no one practiced the arts anymore. They were all left completely defenseless. Maybe the mana shortages were more widespread than he thought. The baby lord''s eyes began to droop as he was gently rocked to sleep. He yawned. He will just have to solve this little mystery later. Just as he was about to sleep, he sent his mind into baby mode to conserve his mana. He just needed some rest. He had enough excitement for one day. A long uninterrupted refreshing nap wouldn¡¯t be too much to ask. Would it?