Because there were so few legends, spellcraft and rituals constructed around Hestia were equally rare. There wasn't much magic lore preserved either. Even with all his knowledge, this version of Su Mo didn't really know the full extent of the Eternal Sacred Flame's power. Still, he was fairly certain it had something to do with faith. Hearing him speak with such conviction, the Su Mo from the Fairy Tail world stopped joking around.
"The Eternal Sacred Flame being tied to the fires of human ritual and sacrifice—yeah, that's a solid theory." He nodded in agreement, then shifted gears.
"But maybe we should approach it from a different angle."
"In Greek mythology, humans first acquired fire from the famous myth of Prometheus stealing it."
"Prometheus used the stalk of a fennel plant to carry the flame stolen from the chariot of the sun god."
"At that time, the sun god of Greek myth was still Helios—Apollo hadn't yet taken over that mantle."
"So, the origin of human fire was actually flame governed by Helios." Hearing this, the Su Mo from the A Certain Magical World realized what he was getting at. "The divine authority we inherited from Mithra—[Eternal Burning Sun]—also relates to Helios."
"In the mythos of the Campione world, Mithra and Helios, both solar deities from the East, often overlap or are considered interchangeable."
"So, Hestia's Eternal Sacred Flame may very well be linked to our solar authority too." And if that was true, then the possibilities expanded greatly. As the primordial flame, if Hestia held dominion over the sacrificial flame that bonded gods and mortals…
Then Helios—one of Mithra's alternate faces—was the source of that very fire. From that connection, the Eternal Sacred Flame could be seen both as the manifestation of faith and as humanity's gratitude for the life-giving warmth of the sun. With that realization, unlocking the true power of the flame might not be so hard after all.
"No wonder you two are the heavy hitters… I think I've got a direction now." The Su Mo from the DanMachi world nodded, having gleaned valuable insight. Whether it was the original fire or the sacrificial one, both tied back to human belief. It now made sense why even Hestia herself didn't fully understand its usage. After all, in his world, gods were literally fueled by belief. But maybe this power could only unleash its full potential in other worlds. Once that topic was finished, he turned to the Su Mo from the Pokémon world with a relaxed smile. "By the way, isn't Ash's journey about to begin over on your side?"
"Yep," came the nod.
"So… when are you planning to arrange the Ho-Oh sighting?" The DanMachi Su Mo's eyes lit up, and he scooted closer. "I was thinking I'd follow after Ash once Ho-Oh appears." The Pokémon Su Mo paused for two seconds, then said, "Otherwise, I'm worried I might scare Ho-Oh off." He too was very interested in the legendary phoenix.
It was far stronger than the three legendary birds he had already caught. After synchronizing with the powers of his multiverse counterparts, he'd taken a brief leave from Professor Oak to go out and capture Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres.
The process had some bumps—initially, he couldn't pinpoint their locations.
But with his strength, it didn't take long before he tracked them down and defeated them in battle. Now, after studying their nature and abilities, he'd even figured out how to use magical transformation to become the three legendary birds himself. This transformation ability had also been shared with the others—so all Su Mos now had access to the forms of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres.
"Good thinking," said the A Certain Magical World Su Mo, nodding in approval.
"After all, Ho-Oh's presence can summon Raikou, Entei, and Suicune—the three legendary beasts."
"Missing out on any one of those would be a shame."
"Exactly. A whole family should be together!" said the DanMachi Su Mo, clearly excited. But not everyone was supportive of this "legendary beast collection drive."
"You guys… have you no shame?" The Su Mo from Fairy Tail glared at them dramatically.
"This is outright discrimination!"
"All legendary Pokémon are one big family—and you're just going to ignore the rest?"
"I say this as your moral compass: collect all of them! Show your boundless compassion and love!" At first, the others thought he was being righteous. But then he revealed his true intentions—he was even more greedy than the rest.
"Shameless! You're the most shameless one here!"
"No wonder you're me!" the rest laughed. As they were winding down their serious conversation and drifting into their usual banter, the A Certain Magical World Su Mo noticed something stirring in the mist not far away.
He waited several seconds… But whoever it was didn't approach. The hesitant movement… could it be a newcomer? His eyes lit up, and he called out, "Hey, newbie! Don't be shy—come join us over here!" Apparently, his voice worked. Within ten seconds, a young man emerged from the mist. He looked no older than twenty, wearing a black uniform with a small bunny insignia embroidered at the edge of the jacket. He looked around at the group of people who all looked exactly like him, and though his face showed a hint of surprise, he wasn't exactly shocked.
"Is this magic? Or… has my cheat system finally activated?" he asked tentatively. The others exchanged glances. Another world with magic? Didn't seem like a normal setting. Following tradition, they all pounced on him at once.
"Wha—!?" After they smacked him on the back in their standard memory-sharing ritual, they paused.
"…That's weird." The Su Mo from the Pokémon world narrowed his eyes.
"I don't feel any power enhancement at all."
"And I didn't pick up any magical knowledge either," added the Fairy Tail Su Mo. On top of that, he noticed something else.
"This guy has no mana in his body and doesn't seem to know how to use magic either."
"And when we jumped him just now, he didn't react at all."
"No matter how you look at it, he's just an ordinary person."
"Could it be that the newcomer hasn't yet come into contact with the supernatural side of his world?" That was the guess. After all, even the versions of Su Mo from the Campione and Ultraman worlds had started off as ordinary humans. So, facing this kind of situation wasn't unfamiliar. The newcomer, now infused with the powers shared by the other Su Mos, finally grasped what was going on. His golden finger had activated! And right off the bat, he'd latched onto a bunch of big shots—what better way to take off? Hearing the question from the Fairy Tail Su Mo, he responded right away.
"I think… I've sort of come into contact with the supernatural side of my world." Even as he spoke, he seemed uncertain himself.
"But not fully, I guess."
"What do you mean by that?" asked the Index World Su Mo, a bit curious.
"So, exactly which world did you transmigrate to?" Upon hearing that, the newcomer's face took on a complicated expression.
"The world I'm in… it's basically a slice-of-life kind of setting, I guess?" Before the others could press further, he clarified.
"But not completely ordinary either." That answer made the other Su Mos feel the urge to smack him. However, once he started recounting his situation, they quickly understood why he had put it that way.
....
....
Time rewinds to that morning—the day the newcomer Su Mo entered the misty space. It was early morning. After reheating some leftover fried rice from the previous night and eating a portion, Su Mo packed the rest into a lunchbox. It was clearly more than a single serving, but that didn't bother him. He still wasn't quite used to the local custom of eating cold lunches, but thankfully the place he worked had a kitchen, so he could heat things up. With lunch prepared, he picked up the bento and headed out.
Clunk.
Just as he shut the door, he saw someone lying slumped in front of the neighbor's house—a blonde girl with long golden hair, snoring lightly against the doorframe. At first glance, it looked like an everyday scene. That is, if you ignored her legs. Or rather, the lack of them. Instead of human legs, she had a coiled, snake-like tail. A lamia—human upper body, serpent lower half—was just lying there casually in front of someone's house. Thankfully, Su Mo was already used to this sort of thing.
The girl, known as Jashin-chan, had a nasty temper but wasn't particularly dangerous. Mostly because she was, quite frankly, an idiot—and more importantly, because of her master, Yurine Hanazono. As long as you called out Yurine's name, she'd appear instantly and chop Jashin-chan into bits.
Literally. Chop. Into. Bits. Then actually turn her into minced meat, "Jashin sauce" style. Having grown accustomed to such scenes, Su Mo had no intention of disturbing her. He stepped around her without hesitation.