"Hero!"
The mont that word was ntioned, it instantly struck a chord with everyone.
That word shows up the most in ani and light novels. Every teenager has fantasized about being summoned by a god to another world to save it as a hero.
Yuuta Togashi's eyes lit up. He could feel his heart ablaze with passion.
Touka Takanashi tilted her head and raised her hand innocently. "Um... when you say 'play a role,' do you an like... acting?"
Everyone looked back at Rias.
She crossed her arms. "That's a long story."
"But to put it in terms you can understand... people in this world have stopped believing in the existence of gods."
"They think the divine is just a myth. This made the gods quite displeased, and they've decided it's ti humanity rembers that the divine is real."
"So they want to choose a few 'Heroes' to help the gods put on a performance."
"Basically, we devils will pretend to be 'Demon Kings' causing chaos, and the heroes will fight us in the cities. Through that, people will rember that the gods exist."
In this modern world of the internet, news, and live broadcasts, it would only take a few dramatic acts before the whole world would be watching.
Shinka Nibutani couldn't help but mutter, "The gods sure are petty..."
Realizing she spoke aloud, she panicked and explained, "Wait—I didn't an it like that! I was just wondering... during all that chaos, no one would actually get hurt... right?"
Her voice trailed off nervously.
Yuuta nodded fervently. "Yeah, yeah! That's really important."
Rias smiled. "Of course not. Gods follow divine law, and harming ordinary people is strictly forbidden."
Of course, that only applied to good people. As for the wicked... they were sent straight to the Abyss to mine for eternity.
"No one will be hurt during these performances. The goal is simply to make people realize the gods are real."
"Afterward, you'll be recognized as the heroes who drove away the demon king and sealed the Gates of Hell. The divine power you receive will remain yours."
"And the gods will grant you a wish."
"Reviving a family mber, endless wealth—any wish a human could possibly imagine."
"Of course, evil wishes won't be granted."
Rikka imdiately raised her hand. "I want in! I want to see my dad again!"
Yuuta quickly raised his hand too. " too! I want to beco a hero!" His heart was pounding with excitent. A real hero, even if it was a bit different from what he'd imagined.
Shinka Nibutani also raised her hand. "Count in too!" Gods, devils, heroes—everything she used to fantasize about was actually real. This was way too exciting.
Dekomori whipped her twin tails. "Wherever Master goes, I follow, Death!"
Touka, seeing everyone raise their hands, quickly did the sa. "M- too!"
Seeing everyone agree, Rias continued, "Since you're all on board, I'll now bestow upon you so galactic knowledge."
She raised her hand, and several glowing motes of light, like fireflies, appeared at her fingertips.
In the blink of an eye, the lights flew into the five students' eyes. Instantly, a stream of information entered their minds.
The knowledge included the basic structure of the Teyvat Universe: details about the various pantheons, Visions, magic, battle aura, divine arts, and more.
It also included beginner-level spells, martial techniques, and divine arts—thods for mortals to train.
Of course, these thods were limited—they could, at most, allow one to awaken a second Stella Fortuna.
asured by modern Earth standards, their upper limit would be sothing like... blowing up a building.
The amount of information was overwhelming, and it took several minutes for the five ordinary students to process it all.
Yuuta Togashi shouted with burning enthusiasm, "Whoa whoa whoa! Magic! Martial arts! So much knowledge—this is amazing! I'm a real mage now!"
Shinka Nibutani clenched her fists, her cheeks flushed red with excitent. This wasn't so fantasy spellbook—this was the real deal.
Rikka Takanashi struck a pose, removed her eyepatch, and coolly declared, "I am the wielder of the Tyrant's Eye, and I shall find the Unseen Horizon! Oh yeah!"
Dekomori dropped to her knees behind Rikka and struck a dramatic pose of her own. "I am the Thunder Hamr Wielder! Follower of the Tyrant's Eye, Death!"
Touka Takanashi, seeing everyone so excited, raised her hand and mimicked them with her usual airheaded cheer. " too! Oh yeah!"
Rias chuckled at their lively reactions. "Hehe, you're all quite energetic. Well then, allow to properly introduce myself. I am Rias Gremory, of the 72 Pillars of devil nobility—head of the Gremory family. My elder brother is the current Satan."
"Whoa! Satan—?!"
The students were instantly stunned.
But they didn't associate "Satan" with so evil final boss.
The information they had just received clarified things: gods and devils weren't natural enemies. In fact, they often t up for tea.
Rikka quickly patted her chest. "I'm Rikka Takanashi, wielder of the Tyrant's Eye!"
Dekomori stood proudly, twintails swinging. "Sanae Dekomori, Thunder Hamr Wielder, Death!"
Yuuta nervously stepped forward. "I-I'm Yuuta Togashi."
Rikka added, "He's the wielder of the Black Fla!"
Yuuta twitched. Ugh, so embarrassing... So embarrassing... SO embarrassing...
Shinka smiled. "I'm Shinka Nibutani, Lady Rias."
Touka raised her hand. "I'm Touka Takanashi. Nice to et you!"
Rias nodded. "Good. Now, let's briefly discuss the script for this 'stage play,' and then we'll request the gods to grant you hero-grade equipnt and powers."
Yuuta swallowed nervously. Hero gear and power?! What would it be—phoenix armor? A legendary elven holy sword?
Woooong—
The golden gate lit up again, and everyone turned toward it.
From within stepped several new figures.
A catgirl with ears and a tail. A bewitching devil woman with bat wings.
And a long-eared, golden-haired, red-eyed elven lady.
The mont this elven lady appeared, a wave of divinity washed over the room.
And without even thinking, a word popped into everyone's mind:
God.
Mortals don't need to be told who gods are. When they see one... they just know.
"God!"
The five students stared in shock as the elven goddess stepped through the golden gate.
Though they'd all prayed at shrines before, they knew there were only statues—never real gods.
But now, a true deity stood before them, and the divine aura radiating from her made them instinctively drop to their knees and clasp their hands together, sneaking glances upward.
Rias blinked in surprise. "Eh? Lady Alice, why are you here too? Isn't this sothing we can handle without your direct involvent?"
Alice proudly waved a hand. "Rias, did you forget my original role? Of course I'd co. I want to take a good look at this parallel Earth."
Akeno Hijima tilted her head. "But isn't this just an ordinary parallel Earth?"
Sona Sitri followed up. "Lady Alice, are you here to explore cultural differences?"
Alice crossed her arms and nodded. "Exactly. Novels, ani, movies, history—there could be differences worth exploring."
Shinka Nibutani listened in silent amazent and couldn't help but mutter internally: Even gods like ani and novels?!
Alice continued, "Besides, having a Middle God like around will be helpful for your mission. Don't worry, I won't steal your credit—I'll just support from the sidelines."
How could she miss out on such a fun production—tricking all of humanity with a grand stage play?
Plus, since becoming a Middle God, she hadn't yet tested the imnse divine power now flowing through her.
She looked down at the five kneeling students and gave a bright grin.
"Hehe, you five really hit the jackpot. It's no exaggeration to say you're the luckiest humans on this parallel Earth."
"I'm Alice. Just call Lady Alice. And you can get up now."
"Yes, Lady Alice!"
Rikka Takanashi, Sanae Dekomori, Yuuta Togashi, Shinka Nibutani, and Touka Takanashi responded in perfect unison. Then they quickly scrambled to their feet like students who'd just been caught by a teacher.
Alice chuckled at their sheepish expressions. "Hehehe..."
Rias clapped her hands. Instantly, a red-colored barrier spread across the entire classroom.
Rikka looked around, eyes sparkling with chuunibyou awe. "Ooooh! Is this... the Battlefield Realm?!"
Shinka blinked. "Battlefield... Realm?"
Rikka struck a serious pose. "That's right! When two combatants clash, the world around them transforms into a battle realm. You can't escape until soone wins."
Dekomori's chuunibyou instincts lit up instantly. She leapt into the mont. "Yes! It's a prison where only the vanquishing of your opponent can free you, Death!" She glanced around.
"Which ans two of us must now begin a deadly duel, Death!"
Shinka panicked. "W-Wait, is that really how this works?!"
Rias sweatdropped. "No, no. This is just a barrier that separates the mystical world from the human one. Inside the barrier, people outside can't see or interact with anything."
Shinka sighed in relief and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She turned to Rikka and Dekomori. "You two nearly gave a heart attack."
Thanks to the information they'd received earlier, they all understood now what a barrier truly was.
Rikka blinked. "So it's just a barrier? But... close enough."
Dekomori chid in, "Exactly, Master, Death!"
Yuuta deadpanned. "No, it's not close at all..."
Akeno giggled. "Ara~ Ara~ Such energetic youth. I believe this phase is called 'chuunibyou,' right?"
Shinka Nibutani and Yuuta Togashi, both recently recovered chuunibyous, instantly felt a wave of sha wash over them.
Rikka Takanashi and Sanae Dekomori, anwhile, wore their usual serious expressions. Touka Takanashi just blinked in confusion with her trademark airheadedness.
Clap clap—
Rias clapped her hands. "Alright, everyone. Now that you're familiar with the situation, let's get to work on our script."
Boom—
A long table appeared in front of them, followed by chairs. A luxurious conference space took shape in an instant.
The five students were in awe—this was their first ti witnessing such an incredible, mystical sight.
"Oooh—"
Everyone took their seats. The five students nervously settled at the far end.
Whoa, this is so mysterious and serious. It's like a scene straight out of a manga!
I'm sweating...
Amazing! As expected of the devil princess!
So cool! So cool, Death!
Is sothing huge about to happen?!
Other than Alice, everyone accompanying Rias on this mission was a quasi-god.
A "quasi-god"—by Earth standards, soone at this level could erase a small town with a single full-powered strike.
The team included Rias, Akeno, Koneko Toujou, Asia Argento, Rossweisse, Sona Sitri, and Tsubaki Shinra.
Rias explained, "First, we'll stage a 'Devil Realm Invasion' play. Originally, I planned to use illusions, but with Lady Alice assisting, we can go all out with effects."
Alice flashed an OK gesture. "Hehe, no worries! I'll make sure the whole country is enveloped in the illusion—it'll shock the entire world instantly."
Akeno looked to the five students. "And naturally, our lucky stars—Team Rikka—will play the starring roles."
"They'll be the heroic team who repels the invading devil forces."
Rias nodded. "To ensure realism, there will be real combat. But don't worry—we'll fight inside a 'Fantasy Barrier.' No matter the destruction, everything inside resets afterward."
This special barrier was a divine artifact acquired by Lumine from a deity with control over illusions.
Shinka Nibutani gulped. "Real combat...?"
"Ara, don't worry," Rias said. "To outsiders, it'll just look real. The environnt and damage will all be virtual. We'll simply say it's a 'barrier.'"
In her hand, firefly-like motes of light appeared. "This is the script. Take a look."
Each person touched a mote of light, and information about the first play appeared in their minds.
The first performance was scheduled for tomorrow morning—during their school commute.
Alice grinned at the five students. "Well then, it's ti to distribute your hero equipnt."
The five instantly gulped in excitent, their hearts pounding.
Hero equipnt... from a god!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon/DaoOfHeaven
Reviews
All reviews (0)