Their arms stopped moving. They were frozen, trapped in a different web of time from one Gabriel was in.
"Who's speaking?"
Gabriel looked in all directions, but saw no one. He stood up and approached them. His finger stroked the cool finger of the human creature. There was no reaction from it. They were impervious to his touch.
"Behind you."
Gabriel was startled by the appearance of a small being with fairy wings. It had bright green eyes. Ite was as cute as an apple. For Gabriel, it was the opposite. He was suspicious of it.
"Have I gone mad?"
He rubbed his eyes, but the tiny creature wouldn't vanish. The little being frowned and straightened his eyelids.
"Your world isn't used to it yet. Have no fear, I am very real."
Gabriel watched him sway in the air. Suddenly, he opened his eyes broad as if he had received enlightenment.
"Are you that angel?"
He hypothesized that this was the angel Henry had been talking about all along.
"Angel? Oh, that's what you call us. Right, ah, I'm an almighty angel of the apocalypse!"
The angel of the apocalypse intercepted doubt in Gabriel's heart. He tapped his finger as thin as a stalk of grass on the man's forehead.
"You'll understand."
A smirk appeared on his small face.
The world was facing the apocalypse. No continent would be spared. Zombies were only the first outbreak, infecting ninety percent of mankind. Other more disastrous events awaited the survivors.
"Our role is to support the chosen ones face the outbreaks and save the human race.
The little fairy thumped his chest. A proud look floated across the tip of his nose. The chosen ones referred to the humans suitable to be the heroes of humanity. Each chosen one would get the assistance of an angel of the apocalypse.
"And how do you intend to help me against them?"
Gabriel still couldn't accept the situation in his mind, but he had to deal with it for now.
"An action is worth a thousand words."
The angel snapped his fingers.
Gabriel's body froze. His gaze seemed distant. Different images flashed through his head. Grandiose, magical landscapes, others devastated by war. Great beings capable of manipulating the elements and nature.
After a minute, Gabriel fell to the ground. He was panting and sweat was dripping from his forehead.
"What have you done to me?"
"I've given you a taste of my capabilities."
"The power to show images in people's minds? That'll come in handy indeed."
Gabriel's sarcasm made the angel sulk.
"You haven't understood a thing..."
Gabriel frowned. What was there to understand?
"My ability as an angel of the apocalypse is to send you to imaginary worlds!"
Gabriel opened his mouth.
"Imaginary... as in my imagination?"
Gabriel thought this power would do him no good because of his weakness to be creative.
The angel slapped his hand against his forehead.
"No, like worlds already created. Novels, anime, films..."
The man stood up..
"And so I'll be able to 'survive' by heading to imaginary worlds even more dangerous than my current situation?"
Gabriel shook his head. He can't accept that.
"You won't be dropped like that. In every world you go, you'll have the opportunity to grow within it."
"Like the magic I saw?"
"Exactly!"
The angel laughed and flapped his wings.
Gabriel glanced at the hungry zombies frozen behind him. It was worth it. If he didn't take this chance to survive, he might as well be called an idiot.
"All right, send me to a world then."
"Any world?"
Gabriel raised his eyebrows. He could choose where to go? But at the smirk forming on the angel's face, he cursed his subsequent words.
"All right. Strap yourself in."
The angel manifested a car chair and buckled the belt around his waist. Gabriel sensed the ground tremble beneath his feet. His sight blurred and the next moment he felt the air brush against his body. An infinite blue web filled his field of vision.
Gabriel sensed his lungs turning into a furnace as he inhaled more air. He lowered his head with difficulty and understood. A total free fall. He was so high up, he barely distinguished forest below.
Even if he wanted to curse the angel in his head, it was impossible. The adrenalin in his body prevented him from thinking about anything other than survival. Although the wind avoided him from moving as he wished, this height gave him a fairly wide view.
The forest stretched as far as the eye could see. In the distance, mountains skirted the sides of a vast plain. To Gabriel's fleeting surprise, a large tower, resembling the one described in the legends, almost plunged into the clouds.
What seemed like an eternity lasted only a few seconds.
Gabriel closed his eyes, ready to spit himself into the trees of the forest. He thought the branches would break his fall and with a bit of luck he'd get out.
The unpleasant collision of his body against the wood only sustained a moment before he crashed to the ground. A deafening noise echoed in his ears.
He gently opened his eyes.
"I... I'm still alive?"
He struggled to get the words out through his dry mouth.
Gabriel felt no pain throughout his body. On the contrary, a sensation of excitement rose in his mind.
"So? How was the first parachute jump without a parachute?"
A voice he knew sounded like the devil knocked on his door.
"Fucking angel shit! Did you do that on purpose?"
Euphoria was replaced by sharp eyes. Gabriel's chest seethed with the flame of anger.
"Calm down, I had to do it. I can't control the way I send you out into the world."
The angel sighed, clearly disappointed by Gabriel's reaction.
"I can't accompany you any longer in this world. If you have any questions, leave me a message. Good luck Gabi!"
Before Gabriel could reply, a blue screen emerged in front of him.
| World migrators: Gabriel Simon.
| World of Origin: Blue Planet |
| Migrated World: Danmachi.
| Initialization of a world objective... |
Gabriel rubbed his eyes. Danmachi? Is this a fantasy world? He'd spent thirty years of his life committing crimes, not reading stories. However, he liked the godfather movie.
As he adjusted to his new surroundings, the window reappeared.
| World Objective : From nothing to heroes
| From nothing to heroes: Make an unknown family the most famous and powerful in Orario.
| Time remaining: 365D; 23H; 59M. |
| Penalty: Return to the original world with immediate total loss.