Grotesque Lord: Ascension

Demigod's Reincarnation

'Although my plan went a little south, I'm back on track.'

Deor used 『Order』 to analyze his current surroundings and was relieved to find out he was in a special purgatorial space between the Astral Realm and one of the mortal planets known as Merkil, it was one of the most high-level planets ruled by mortals that Deor knew of, in terms of both magical advancement and human technology.

'The resources on Merkil will definitely help me ascend to Godhood much faster than other low ranking and mid-ranking mortal worlds... though it would take at least two hundred years minimum, and that's me being optimistic.' Thought Deor. 'That being said, 1 year in Merkil equates to about 10 years in the Astral Realm... speaking of time, how long has it been since I died...?'

When he activated the spell『Soul Separation』 there were only 3 minutes before Zelimn's destruction.

Before Deor separated from Arlene and the others, he explained to them that for his plan to work they needed to cause a large spatial disturbance by collapsing Zelimns structural integrity, causing a small 'spatial quake'.

This spatial quake would cause the barrier between the Astral Realm and the mortal worlds to weaken for a few seconds. Deor would exploit this small opening to descend onto Merkil.

"But I've been here for 15 minutes now, haven't I?" he chuckled to himself "Well, at least I can tell time here... unlike when I was trapped in the Abyss."

Thinking of this he scanned the surrounding space again "Hmm? Is this it?!?"

Deor suddenly felt an abnormality and couldn't contain his excitement, him being here at this moment was the byproduct of many hardships that he had no control over, that's why he made up his mind and decided that he would never allow his fate to be in the hands of anyone else except for himself.

"This time I will rule...『Divine Reincarnation』"

—boom!

Deor's body exploded, and his consciousness faded. He could be at ease knowing that, when he came to, he would be in his new body.

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*****

"Push Nina! I can see the baby's head just one more push!" screamed an elderly-looking woman.

"Aaurgh!" with a pained expression the woman called Nina tried her best to give birth to her baby safely, even though deep down she knew it was hopeless.

Similar cries of pain could be heard throughout the dimly lit room. About thirty women were busy giving birth in conditions that could only be described as inhumane. Except for the 'nurses' aiding them to deliver their babies safely, there was nothing else to make the experience of childbirth more comfortable. The mattress' they lay on was so dirty that old clumps of dried-up blood were visible on their surfaces.

"You did it Nina!" the elderly woman cried out in joy "It's a–eh!?" horror flushed the face of the elderly woman when she saw Nina's newborn child's appearance, she almost dropped it from shock.

The infant could only be described as the incarnation of a demon. The whites of its eyes were pitch black, and thick blue veins were pressing against its pale yellow skin. It didn't cry or make a single sound in fact; it seemed like it wasn't even breathing.

"N-Nina t-this is..." the elderly woman was speechless. How in the world does she tell the young mother about her newborn's condition?

"Old lady Sandra, what are you doing? Hurry, clamp and cut the umbilical cord..." Said Nina weakly.

"A-as you wish..." Sandra didn't know how to tell Nina about her demon-like child, so she chose the easier way and just show her.

She slowly handed the infant to Nina, but to her surprise, Nina simply cuddled with the little devil as she cried and whispered, "It's my fault." over and over under her breath.

"Nina, I think it's a miscarriage... it's not your fault..." Sandra tried to console Nina, but these were the only words she could come up with.

Unfortunately, her words didn't get through to Nina, she just kept whispering. "It's my fault." in a complete daze.

'I should've told her it was a miscarriage in the first place... but I'm sure I felt a faint heartbeat.' Sandra has been helping deliver babies for fifteen years and this was the first time she came across something like this, Nina's newborn infant wasn't breathing but it also had a heartbeat. These two facts only terrified her.

'This is a bad omen... I must get rid of this little devil before the reverend finds out about its existence.' thought Sandra 'I can't let the cult know of this demon.' steeling her resolve Sandra tried to grab the baby from Nina.

"Kya? aahh~"

Both Sandra and Nina froze when they heard the cute cry coming from the newborn in Nina's arms.

"Gyahah~"

"E-eh...? This shouldn't be possible..." Said Nina. Unlike Sandra, she understood why her baby was born in such a horrible state.

Nina knew that her baby's current condition was one of the side effects caused by the taboo [Sinless Spirits Hatred]. As the name implies, this was a curse bestowed upon all holy spirits that were devoured by an insurmountable amount of negative emotions.

Because of several unfortunate circumstances, Nina was stripped of her authority as a spirit and succumb to hate as a result. That's why she understood very well that a baby born from this hatred would only be a soulless shell. Her knowledge of these facts and the scene happening before her eyes clashed, rendering her hopelessly dumbfounded.

The baby giggled innocently, the ugly veins disappeared slowly, the pale yellow skin gained the glow and radiance a normal newborn would have, and the iris of its eyes was illuminated with an alluring crimson color.

Coming out of her stupor Nina let out a small laugh "Where did you get those mystical looking eyes...? because they aren't from mommy."

Of course, they weren't from her, although Nina was a beautiful woman that could make most men fall for her at a single glance. Red eyes weren't part of her charm, she had navy blue hair and eyes.

"Maa... e~?" mimicked the baby.

"A-aren't you a smart one... what should I name you?"

"Shouldn't you check if it's a boy or girl first?" commented Sandra, who had been quietly standing at Nina's side.

"Oh, you're right old lady Sandra hmm... let's see it's a girl!" shouted Nina in excitement only to be assaulted by a gut-wrenching pain from her abdomen "Argh..."

"Calm down Nina, I know you're excited but you just gave birth without anything for the pain... I'm surprised you aren't unconscious by now." Said Sandra, wiping the sweat off Nina's face with an old rag.

"... mhm, but I want to name my sweet little angel before I go to sleep..." Nina fell into thought.

She was expecting to bury her infants' corpse shortly after birth, so even thinking about a name was too painful for her.

A few minutes later, she decided on a name. Since her newborn baby was a girl, she combined the name of the only God all holy spirits worshiped, the Primordial Goddess Zerdall, and the name of the Spirit Queen Ayrica.

"... I'll call her Zaydir." Said Nina with a tender voice.