The air smelled like sulfur and ozone, like a thunderstorm was coming, only much worse. Alastor, the S-Rank Wizard, just laughed in the middle of all the carnage. Pieces of the ancient castle floated in blue flames, and he was completely chill.
"Sa'abel's Demon Spear, First Form!" yelled Andras, the Demon King.
The spear was pure black bone and smoke, moving fast.
"Hmmmm… Demon Kings are so predictable, aren't they!?"
"AB-SO-LUTE CA-NCELL-A-TION!"
Andras's attack vanished into smoke, gone.
The Demon King turned red with fury.
"You insignificant brat! Now you'll see my real power!"
Alastor shrugged, mocking him:
"Whoa, I'm so scared! Bring it on, Andras!"
But then he felt it. A chill down his spine he hadn't felt in centuries. The spell Andras was preparing was... Forbidden. Banished centuries ago, a power that could split the world apart.
"This is…" Alastor froze, the laugh dying in his throat.
" DELUGE OF THE ETERNAL ABYSS!"
Dark energy surged, a wave of destruction that swallowed the light. Alastor didn't know what to use, and there was no time. He had no choice. He had to use the forbidden spell too, even if he didn't know what kind of disaster it would cause.
"Aaaaah, crap!"
He stomped the ground, the earth cracking in a golden magic circle.
" ABSOLUTE CONSCIOUSNESS RITUAL!"
The second the Deluge was about to hit, Alastor disintegrated into millions of golden particles.
Andras let out a demonic laugh that seemed to rip the sky:
"Ha ha ha ha! It's over! NOW THIS WORLD BELONGS TO THE DEMON KINGS!" he shouted to his demon army below.
But Alastor… he was far away. Floating in the dark, in an abyss that was neither heaven nor hell.
"Where am I!? What now!?" He took a deep breath, trying to calm down.
And he remembered the Ancient Prophecy:
"When hope dies and the Sacred Earth crumbles, four beings from the Otherworld shall appear. In the final moment, the Supreme Wizard will awaken, and his voice shall extinguish evil forever."
He clenched his fist.
"That's it… I have to find those beings as fast as possible!"
«IN THE CURRENT WORLD»
Levi arrived in front of the giant gates of Alancon Muse University, his heart pounding in his throat. He tried to straighten his shirt, feeling the sweat run down. At 21, he wasn't exactly muscular; skinny, about 5'9", he looked pretty "average."
"Calm… calm down, Levi. Calm down. Everything will be okay,"
he muttered to himself.
He was a positive and determined guy, sure, but he was also the one who was always the punching bag in his old city. Moving cities and getting into Alancon Muse was his chance to be a new Levi.
He was so distracted by his own internal monologue that he didn't see the person coming from the opposite direction, focused on their phone.
BUMP!
"Oof! Dude, sorry! My bad, seriously!" Levi bowed quickly, red with embarrassment.
The other guy, Rimuru, was on the ground. He was a bit shorter, wore glasses, and had a backpack full of what looked like wires and circuit boards. Rimuru wasn't mad; he was just calculating the damage.
"It's… it's fine,"
Rimuru replied, his voice shy. He used logic for almost everything, and logic said the probability of an accident was high with two lost freshmen.
"The loss of momentum of my center of gravity indicates there was no serious damage to my laptop, but I have to check the interface…"
Levi smiled, relieved, and held out his hand to help.
"I'm Levi. First time here, right? I'm kind of lost."
Rimuru accepted, standing up. He was the typical tech-obsessed nerd.
"Rimuru. Yeah, first day. I came from another city too. I… I think the success rate of our admission to Alancon Muse is only 1.5%, so it's statistically improbable that we wouldn't meet, but…"
He stopped, noticing Levi's 'huh?' face.
"Anyway, yes. New here."
"Man, what a good coincidence! We could go together then. Since we're starting from scratch, it's better to have a partner, right?"
Levi suggested, feeling a bit of that nervousness melt away.
They walked, talking about the fear of being a freshman, the cities they left behind, and the hope that Alancon Muse would be different.
NIRA'S INTERVENTION
But the hope didn't last long. As soon as they entered the main courtyard, where the crowd was thicker, a deep and mocking voice echoed.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Fresh meat for everyone, huh?"
Sasha. The third-year Bad Boy. A brute nearly 6'3", strong, with the face of someone who only solves things with a punch. His group, three equally big guys, surrounded Levi and Rimuru.
Fear chilled Levi's spine. It was the same feeling as before, the weakness, the humiliation.
"Hey, little nerd," Sasha said, snatching Rimuru's cap. "What's with the robot backpack, huh? Think you're in tutoring class?"
One of the guys in the group, a guy named Dago, shoved Rimuru on purpose, making him stumble.
"Hey! What's your problem!?" Levi felt his blood rise. The anger was immediate, pure, because he had been through this before. Not again.
On instinct, Levi pushed Dago back. Hard.
Panic mixed with determination made Levi breathe deeply, his mouth dry. Dago almost fell. Sasha's group stopped.
"Oh yeah? So you wanna fight, is that it, huh?" Sasha dropped Rimuru's cap on the ground, giving a menacing smile.
The moment got tense, everyone watching. Levi was ready to get beaten up, but he wouldn't run.
"What do you think you're doing, Sasha!?"
The voice came suddenly, strong, but feminine. Nira. A simple girl, with her hair tied back and an expression that said she wouldn't take any nonsense. She was 5'6", but her aura was ten feet tall
"Aaaaha, Nira! Hey, sweetie! Nothing, I just wanted to 'have some fun' with the new little friends," Sasha said, trying to sound casual.
"Don't you dare lay a hand on them, Sasha!"
Nira's tone changed. The girl who seemed like everyone's friend was now a monster (just by the way she spoke). Her eyes, previously friendly, had a 'back off, loser' look that made Sasha swallow hard. She was known to be good at martial arts.
"Hmmm, okay, okay," Sasha gave in, raising his hands, but the threat was in his tone.
"But this isn't over, 'little friend'." He gestured to his group, and they walked away.
Levi and Rimuru were impressed by her courage.
"Are you guys okay?" Nira turned to them, and the 'monster' was gone, replaced by a worried expression.
"Umm… uh-huh… yeah, yeah. We're f-fine," Levi replied, feeling shame and fascination. She was too beautiful, with a 'don't mess with me' attitude that attracted him. He helped Rimuru pick up his cap.
"Thank you, you're very brave. What's your name?"
"Nira. My name is Nira," she replied, smiling gently.
"Thank you very much, Nira," Levi and Rimuru thanked her together
"Oh, you're welcome, guys. And welcome to Alancon Muse. If you need anything, I'm around,"
she said, and the smile was genuinely friendly.
She walked past Levi, and he smelled her scent; it was sweet, like cherry blossoms. He stood still, a little awestruck, until Rimuru nudged him.
Sasha's threat continued , small shoves and stares in the hallway. The stress was getting to Levi, who couldn't wait to go home.
(Later, in the late afternoon)
They were walking back together, Levi and Rimuru, taking the quickest route. But around the corner of the alley, they froze.
"Oh, man… we're screwed," Rimuru whispered, his face pale.
Sasha and his group were there, in the middle of a nasty fight with another local gang, the Zero Troop. There were about ten guys and they were seriously beating each other up.
"Let's go around, now," Levi said, pulling Rimuru back.
But it was too late. Sasha, who was busy punching a guy, saw the movement out of the corner of his eye.
"Look, the nerd and the goody-goody! Come here, 'littlefriend,' the fight is mine, but you two are going to do me a favor!"
Sasha shouted, laughing.
And, to everyone's surprise, Nira was right behind them, with her backpack on her shoulder. She saw Sasha, the rival gang, and the tension.
"Sasha, again!?" Nira yelled, running towards them.
The Zero Troop saw their chance. Three guys grabbed bottles, a bat, and a plank of wood. The fight was about to get serious. Nira and Sasha suddenly became defensive.
"Get behind us! Now!" Nira and Sasha shouted at the same time.
Levi and Rimuru looked at each other, shocked by Sasha's instant 'US ' But there was no time to think. The Zero Troop charged. Nira and Sasha were holding their own; she used her fists with precision, he with brute force, like it was an everyday thing.
But Levi and Rimuru were frozen. Until a guy from the rival gang tried to hit Rimuru from behind with the plank.
"Rimuru! Look out!"
On instinct, Levi closed his eyes and hit the guy. Levi's body was weak, but his determination was so strong that the blow landed squarely, and the guy stumbled.
Levi blinked, surprised. He… had done that?
"Rimuru, are you okay!?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine, Levi! Thanks!" Rimuru replied.
Rimuru, who only thought in logic, saw a chance.
"Guys, hand me your phones! I have a plan!"
Nira kicked a guy and threw her phone. "Okay! Take it!"
"Here's mine!" Levi gave him his, his hand trembling.
Sasha, who was busy dodging, hesitated, his face disgusted. "I want my phone back, you little nerd!" But he threw it.
"Whatever you're going to do, do it now, Rimuru! More people are coming!" Nira shouted.
Rimuru, with incredible focus, used the cell phones, wires from his backpack, and the battery. He was creating a light bomb.
"Close your eyes! Now!"
FLAASH!
The flash bomb hit the guys squarely. They fell, screaming, temporarily blinded.
"Good job, Rimuru!" Levi shouted, feeling a pleasant rush of adrenaline.
"Now, run! More guys are coming!" Nira said.
They ran, Rimuru suggesting a shortcut… which led them to a dead end alley.
Cornered.
"Great, little nerd! Now we're trapped!" Sasha mocked, breathing heavily.
"But you're the one who got us into this gang fight!" Levi shot back, the fear hitting hard, but the anger keeping him standing.
Sasha scowled, but his voice was firm: "Okay! But now we have to finish them together. It's fight or die!"
"I have to agree with him, guys. So, SHALL WE DO THIS!?" Nira yelled.
"YES!" they all answered at the same time. The gang was coming towards them, their silhouettes regaining sight.
And suddenly…
A voice echoed, but it wasn't a sound. It was something that vibrated in their bones.
"I FOUND YOU!"
A mystical circle appeared in the sky, glowing with a golden light that seemed forbidden, and time stopped. Everything around them froze. The gang members, the dust in the air, the bottles... everything paralyzed. Only Levi, Nira, Sasha, and Rimuru could move.
"What is happening!?"
Levi questioned, his breath caught, looking at one of the guys' hands frozen in the air.
"What the hell is this? Are they dead!? Or are we dead!?" Sasha asked, touching one of the paralyzed guys.
"I don't think we're dead," Nira replied, her eyes wide with curiosity, forgetting the fear for a second.
Rimuru approached the frozen circle, analyzing, his logic screaming. "From the visual analysis and lack of movement, it seems like something stopped time."
"I wouldn't say something, but someone,"
the voice came from the circle in the sky, a powerful enchantment.
"What!? Did you guys hear that?" Levi asked, sweating cold.
"Yes, someone is here," Nira confirmed, the fear returning.
"Aaha, must be a prank," Sasha laughed, but his voice lacked conviction.
"I AM THE VOICE OF THE WORLD AND YOU ARE THE CHOSEN ONES."
Suddenly, the four felt their bodies levitate. A strange pain, as if they were turning to dust, starting from their feet.
"What is happening!?" Levi asked, his fear turning into hysteria.
"No! NO, NO, NO!" Rimuru screamed, panic taking over, he couldn't calculate any of this.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?" Sasha yelled, trying to struggle.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, I need to finish my boo…" (book) Before Nira could finish the word, they completely disintegrated into golden dust.
Everything returned to normal on Earth. The rival gang blinked, confused.
"Huh? Where are they? They vanished!?"