I opened my eyes to the sight of a giant red ball of energy. Around me, people dressed in medieval-era servant uniforms were shouting in concern.
"Lady Rias! Deactivate that spell, Lady Rias!"
That name—Rias. I looked at the girl they were yelling at. She had long, crimson hair and piercing blue eyes. Rias...
As I searched through the memories of all my past lives, it didn't take long before I realized who she was. And in that same moment, dozens of memories surged into me like a tidal wave.
I was Ray Gremory. The younger twin brother of Rias Gremory.
And I was five years old.
I looked at Rias, who was struggling to control the massive ball of energy at the tip of her hand. That had to be a spell—destruction magic, passed down through the Bael bloodline.
I didn't remember her ever showing signs of this before, so this was probably her first time using it.
Even as the chaos unfolded, I stared in awe. I'd lived in this world for five years and had never once seen destruction magic used in person. This was definitely a first.
Then, Mom—Venelana—entered the room and quickly stopped the spell before it spiraled out of control.
I couldn't take my eyes off them. Watching destruction magic in action up close, even from someone as young as Rias, was surreal. I could only hope I'd awaken this magic too someday. I'd been waiting and hoping for it for a long time.
But then I noticed something unsettling—Venelana and Rias were looking at me. Not just looking—staring. Their gazes were focused, intense.
Crap. The curse.
I didn't have anything covering my face.
I panicked. My hands flew to my face, and I turned away, still in shock. I looked at them for a split second longer before turning and sprinting toward my room. I entered, slammed the door, locked it, and collapsed to the floor, gasping.
I didn't have a magic circle like the one i had in the Mushoku Tensei world. That meant I had to endure the raw, unfiltered flood of knowledge from my past life—no buffers. It came rushing in, tearing through my mind with the full intensity of death-awakened memory. It hurt.
Every time I thought about anything, thousands of related topics would appear in my head at once. It was like living inside a sentient, overclocked Wikipedia.
Eventually, I managed to force my mind into silence and push away the flood. That's when I heard a soft knock at the door.
Knock knock
"Ray, honey? Are you okay? You didn't look well earlier." It was Venelana.
"Honey, were you hurt by Rias's destruction magic? Let me in. I need to check if it's serious," she said, gently trying to push the door open.
But I couldn't let her in. She'd already seen my face—and I couldn't trust her, not yet.
I grabbed a piece of paper.
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by chemically or mechanically—
I shook my head hard, dispelling the intrusive knowledge.
I picked up a pen.
A pen is a writing instrument that—
Shut up.
I fought back the flood again and managed to write:
"I'm tired. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm okay, just got a little dizzy."
I slid the note under the door and waited.
Eventually, she left.
Once I was sure she wasn't coming back, I blocked the door with furniture and collapsed onto the bed.
I couldn't stay here. This house was too dangerous.
From my experience as Paul Greyrat, I knew noble families were the worst match with my curse. Too many maids that might "visit" in the middle of the night. Too many people seeing my face, meaning kidnappers knocking at my door every damn evening.
That's why, even back then, I had no choice but to run away.
I lay on the bed and thought to myself: with the magic system in this world, replicating the magic circle isn't impossible. I'd done it in every life.
But this time… it might take too long.
If I don't fix this soon, I might become a vegetable—stuck hallucinating Wikipedia articles every time I look at a fork.
So, I came up with a plan. A rough one, but a plan nonetheless.
Step 1:
Create something—anything—that can shield me from the information overflow in my head. That either means studying devil technology like a maniac or getting help from someone powerful and knowledgeable.
Step 2:
Gather an absurd amount of money. Enough to retire early and chill somewhere like Thailand for the next 18 years without worry.
Step 3:
Make absolutely sure no one sees me. I need a mask, a scent-removing perfume, and a voice modifier. The last thing I need is for some pure-blood devil to get obsessed and force my family to hand me over. Or worse—lock me in a mansion with a 24/7 guard detail and no way to escape.
I briefly considered surrendering myself to a lonely, rich devil lady. Being pampered for 18 years sounded tempting… until I remembered how those stories usually end.
Frozen forever for display, trapped in some twisted sex dungeon, or passed around between noble houses like a prize pet.
No. Hell no.
After that mental spiral, I drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up, everything was quiet. No overly friendly maid in bed with me. No noble kid sneaking in as a prank only to decide I'm now their fiancé. None of the weird crap I've had to deal with over the years.
I got up, wrote another note—"Leave the food by the door, please."—and slid it under the door.
Then I went back to thinking. I had to secure my first step: fixing the knowledge overload.
I had a few options.
I could beg Sirzechs. Or use the curse slightly to influence him into helping. He could ask Ajuka to build something for me, or maybe find another skilled devil engineer who could craft a device to stabilize my mind.
Sirzechs was my best bet. No way I could meet anyone else before setting up my mask, scent cover, and voice mod system.
I had to act fast. I needed to catch him before the damage to my brain became irreversible.
So, I waited. Every day, I'd peek through the window, scanning the castle gates while I ignored the voices pleading with me to come out.
Then, after a week—he arrived.
Sirzechs Gremory. My older brother. "The Strongest Devil Alive."
He passed through the gates. I prayed to the dead god that he'd come to me.
He didn't disappoint.
A few minutes later, he was at my door.
"Ray, I heard from Mother and Father that you locked yourself in your room and won't come out. Can you tell me why?"
He waited. Silence.
He was about to give up when a delicate, mesmerizing voice came from the other side of the door. He was tempted to say it sounded angelic—but after years of dealing with real angels, he knew that wouldn't do it justice.
"Brother… is that you?" I said from inside.
He stood frozen. Since when did Ray sound like that?
"I'm Sirzechs… who's in there?"
"It's me, Ray. Don't you recognize me?"
He hesitated. Then spoke again, "Ray, come out. You're worrying everyone. We just want to help you."
"I'll come out," I said, "but only if you promise me something."
"What is it? I can get you any toy, game, or thing you want."
"Can you get your friend Ajuka to come and build me something?"
"Of course!" he said quickly. "What do you want him to build?"
After a few seconds, I slid a paper under the door.
He picked it up and tried to read it but gave up after just a few seconds of skimming the complex, jargon-filled notes.
"Don't worry, Ray," he said with a smile. "I'll get Ajuka to build you whatever this is—by tomorrow, even. How hard could something from a child be?"
And with that, he turned and walked away to tell the family what had happened.