Why the hell did you greet me then? Who does this girl think she is? Arata couldn't tell if Ravenna was being respectfully disrespectful or disrespectfully respectful. Arata, while undeniably pissed off at her attitude, acknowledges Ravenna has answers that he would need. Arata chooses to stay quiet. He puts his hands in his pockets as he decides to lead the conversation in a productive direction.
"Sorry, I think I am missing some vital context… You said I died twice… and now I'm in this theater, how?" Arata questions her, clearly thrown off.
Ravenna lets out a sigh, clearly annoyed with his questions. She moans, "Why bother asking? I wouldn't expect YOU to understand the mechanics of reincarnation and warping between spaces. Let's just say for simplicity's sake you've been isekaied. Like in those… questionable anime you watch."
Arata quickly refutes Ravenna, "I watch normal shows! Isn't it normal for most guys to do?!"
Ravenna looks away, trying to avoid the subject rather than admit she lost the argument. She opens her mouth, "Anyways, don't you want to know how to go home, or if you got any powers like magic?"
Even if she was annoying, she was still correct in getting them back on topic. Arata moves to the side until his eyes meet Ravenna's again while stating, "You said you were a guide; with your attitude, did a superior delegate this task onto you?"
She suddenly looks pissed like a sore spot was hit, "That superior is Creator. Someone you'd call God, but to us angels, he is known as Creator. Since Mr. Creator is powerless to influence the domains he has already created, he sent you to this world to fix an issue for him. A calamity plagues this world; it is doomed to a tragic fate by some demon lord guy."
Arata questions her further, "You sound like you don't know who the demon lord is…"
Ravenna, in response, explains, "finding him is part of why you were brought here."
Surprisingly straightforward since he's watched enough anime, find and kill the demon lord, get sent home and simple, right? No way… I literally just died to the first enemy I encountered. What can I do about that? "Okay, so what are my abilities? I got mauled to death by a group of ugly ass bugs."
"It's… complicated, like in the JRPG, I guess? You got your main quest against an evil demon lord, there's progression on your journey to free this world of calamity, accompanied by allies along the way. Most importantly, you will get savepoints whenever you clear a boss or do something important." Ravenna explained.
Although incredibly out of character for an angel, Arata had some kind of direction, but he still needed more clarity: "That… is it really all there is to that?"
"Not everything is rewound when you save… once you reach the end of a storyline, reality is completely altered by what happened… so be careful your choices do have consequences even if you turn back the clock," Ravenna warns him.
Something, however, seemed wrong to Arata. The implication being, I just have to figure out how to kill those monsters? He decides to ask her, "anything I could use in combat? If whoever sent me here could give me the ability to rewind reality, why don't I get a single ability to use in combat?"
Ravenna replied in a calm, polite tone, contrary to her words, "Just leave… get out now human, go go go, shoo. Maybe you'll find something in the dungeon?" She clearly wasn't going to answer, so Arata saw no point in staying. Feeling confused and overpowered was normal for him. Growing up, he was pressured by others' high expectations of him. After all, his older brother Ren was a genius who gave up his dreams so Arata could pursue his. He didn't know how the ability was activated. So he turned back to ask her, but the room already shifted. He was now right back in the shitty, grimy cell.
Immediately, he noticed several elements he had previously disregarded due to his shock and confusion in the moment. The bugs had left any objects, only taking the organic material. The floor was covered in shredded clothes, shattered armor and other debris scattered across the floor. There were various keys and weapons on the floor. He decides to explore the prison, taking the keys, he tries them on various doors… the locks are too old for such a plan to work. Unfortunately, he cannot access one particularly intriguing room, a guard's corpse, which the bugs haven't stolen.
The locks barely work… they're so damaged that I could just hit them hard enough. Loose stones, maybe?
Taking note of the various sidearms he found, looking at his small knives to his big polearms, he comes up with an ingenious idea.
I just gotta grab a big rock and smash it into the lock until it opens.
A couple of smacks worked like a charm; he opened the cell. Entering the cell, he tried to analyze why the man was untouched.
Well, if you're stuck, you just have to rob the corpse for answers.
He finds metal armor, a short sword and a bottle sealed with linen and clay. He decides to take the stuff and find a bug to challenge. Exiting the cell, he heads to one end of the prison, the original end of the tunnel where he first found the bugs. Seeing the bugs again fills him with a unique sense of dread. The slimy, gross water wasn't that welcome either.
Arata shouts, "Hey! Look at me bugs!"
It was successful… too successful in fact. He managed to draw 15 bugs towards his location. He draws the broadsword, stabbing one of the bugs as it lets out a deathly cry. Suddenly, the bugs get faster, charging at his legs as he falls to the ground. With that trip, he accidentally smashes the bottle in his other hand onto his shoulder. A gross, pungent chemical smell douses him. The liquid trickles its way down his arm, onto his chest. The bugs scamper away in fear.
The room grew cold as the bugs scampered away. You little shits… if I don't kill them now, I die later! This is for my survival. "Hey bugs! Get back here!"
Arata begins to crawl his way back up slowly. His sword scrapes against the floor as sparks dance across the stone. As Arata's emotions well up inside him, a sudden spark forms in the palm of his hand, the flames engulf the handle of his blade.
Arata feels a sudden burst of pain, the flames jump from the handle to his skin, spreading across his body nigh instantaneously. The raging fire begins to eat away at his flesh, charring his bones until nothing is left.