9th Month of the Human Empire Calendar, 378. Rulid's Village, Just outside the Church...
Disaster Levels. Such a simple yet terrifying concept to measure untold destruction.
Of course, while no one getting into the series known as 'One Punch-Man' for the first time would think such a thing, those who were long-time fans of it or had at least bothered doing deeper research, would realize how truly scary and catastrophic things were in there.
For starters, OPM took place in a different world from normal Earth, which had only one massive supercontinent (Not unlike the ancient Pangea), which was divided on the so-called 'cities' labeled from A to Z.
That should be more than enough to put things in perspective, at least for anyone with enough awareness of what it meant: This made even the smallest of the so-called 'cities' of One Punch-Man's world to be the size of a small country.
Disaster Levels Wolf and even Tiger could perhaps be 'disregarded', in a sense. Sure, they were still dangerous, especially the latter, but even the worst-case scenario of it was something still within the scope that the average 'Heroes' could handle. Something that, in the real world, would still be possible to manage for actual human forces, be it police or maybe even the military, with relative collateral damage.
Then, came Disaster Level-Demon. Textually explained as 'A threat endangering a whole city or its infrastructure'.
It didn't sound too bad until, once again, one realized the 'cities' they were talking about were, in fact, the size of an average real-world country. Meaning, a 'Demon' had enough power to, in the best case scenario, render an entire country unable to sustain itself, and of totally obliterating it at worst (Time taken for such a thing to happen depending on the threat, of course).
A Disaster Level-Dragon could do the same but on a scale comparable to doing it to an area around the size China or the United States in the real world.
Kirito was no expert on measuring things by eye, nor had he had time to ask around how big Rulid Village was, but he was sure as hell that it wasn't even remotely near the size of a small country. In fact, he doubted even the whole 'Human World' had enough land to fully qualify as that, or barely.
And a beast able to cause destruction on such a scale was now heading straight for the small and, compared to one of its original setting, very primitive settlement.
...we're not going to make it...
"By the Goddesses!"
"Wha-what is that?!"
"Bwaaaaah...!"
"So-someone sound an alarm, we need to...!"
"TAKE COVER!" screamed Kirito from where he was standing before the church, Selka's gaze snapping back to him from where it had been glued to the incoming black abomination. "FIND A PLACE TO HIDE!"
It's useless, that thing's beak can easily break through skyscraper's walls...these houses aren't going to stop it...
"Ki-Kirito, what...?!"
"Selka, there is no time! Is there a basement on the church?! If so, I need you to try and get everyone around down there! That thing is...!"
"Ki-Kirito, the children!" interrupted the young apprentice as the massive form of Giant Crow drew closer.
The black-haired boy froze, his mind screeching to a halt.
The children. The ones that had just had breakfast with them...the ones who just ran out to play in the village.
As he turned around and the world 'slowed down' around him, the voices of Selka and the screaming villagers became almost muted in his ears...the gamer had never felt how truly 'weak' he really was without his 'powers' until that very moment. The world around him going so slowly, from the screaming villagers to the massive shadow approaching from the heavens, having never felt more like a horrible curse than a weird blessing, because he knew it wouldn't be enough to stop the incoming catastrophe, not without the strength, the speed, the Power needed to make that perception into reality...
But that didn't mean he wouldn't try.
After all, he hadn't left the monstrous Xaxa kill Asuna and Suguha back then, right?
"I'm going to look for them!" screamed Kirito as he shot down the street, surprising Selka for a moment at his speed, the girl having never seen even adults that spent their lives moving heavy equipment for the fields go so fast. "You stay inside!"
The gamer didn't even give her time to answer before he turned a corner, feeling his legs burning from the strain he was putting on them, a part of him cursing Kikuoka for the extreme realism of his 'experiment' while the other was keenly aware of his surroundings, his eyes looking at every corner of the small street as he turned towards another.
He saw what he was looking for right then. Two kids, a boy and a girl, frozen in place as they stared at the screeching form of Giant Crow flying towards the village, holding each other and seemingly unable to react.
They barely put up any resistance when Kirito ran past and snatched both of them up, one under each of his arms.
A part of him screamed that they were too heavy for him, together with his aching and very-real-feeling muscles.
The part of him that had punched Heathcliff out of existence back in Aincrad quickly told that part to shut up, even as the Mysterious Being finally swept past the village, tearing apart the top of the few buildings that had more than one floor as if they were made of glass.
He barely registered the pain when he threw himself towards the front of a house, half-hiding under the entrance as he covered the screaming children with his body, some miraculously small pieces of debris falling all around them.
When the brutal winds caused by the passing of the beast vanished, the gamer risked a glance upwards and was glad to see it fly away and upwards inland. On the one hand, it meant that it still had to respect the laws of physics and inertia despite being a tennis court-sized bird. On the other hand, it clearly had realized there was 'food' down there, and the next sweep probably would do way more than just destroying a couple homes.
Trying as hard as he could to not think about the few houses he could clearly see had completely caved in, Kirito stood up and ran again, feeling both kids sobbing and holding to him as hard as they could. He didn't even hesitate to hold the hand of another, crying and trembling one when they passed him by, leaning against a half-collapsed wall.
He was back at the church before he knew it, Selka turning away from guiding some scared villagers inside to look at him with so much relief that it seemed she could have fainted from it. Beside her, sister Azariya looked on in shock, even as an elderly man he didn't know stared from the crying and scared people to the flying shadow of Giant Crow, despair and fear in his eyes.
"Kirito, you're okay! And...you brought them!" happily screamed the young apprentice while rushing to his side, helping two of the kids out of his tired hands even as the last one gave him a thankful nod and ran after his friends as Selka pushed them inside the church. "Quick, we need to...!"
"It's coming back." whispered the nun with wide eyes, everyone following her line of sight to see the sinister form of the Mysterious Being starting to turn around at a respectable distance from Rulid, clearly aiming to ram into the village again. "Goddesses, protect us...ah! Chief Gasupht!"
"Father!" shouted Selka upon seeing the man falling to his knees as he stared towards the incoming monstrosity.
"No...why? No help will arrive in time..." muttered Gasupht Zuberg as he looked towards the ground with despair-filled eyes. "Is...is this a punishment? Did we do something to anger the Goddesses? Maybe the Axiom Church still hasn't forgiven my daughter and that boy's sin of...?"
The man was unable to keep talking, because, in that moment, someone roughly grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to stand up, rather violently.
Gasupht had spent his whole life living in a rather peaceful and relaxed environment, because of his world's nature (Even if he didn't know this wasn't that natural). Even during the incident years ago that made him lost his daughter, he hadn't found any animosity or anger directed towards him, and the violence he had contemplated had been something bizarre between a kid defying one of the highest and most respected figures of authority in the world.
In that moment, however, as he stared at the anger and determination-filled eyes of the black-haired boy...no, young man, holding him, a part of his soul just KNEW that all of that was about to change forever.
For better or worse.
"How can you just lie down there, lamenting things in a moment like this?! Don't you see everyone in your village is in danger?!" shouted Kazuto before pointing towards the church's half-open door, an extremely serious look on his face. "If you have time to feel sorry for yourself, then use it to try and calm down your people before they panic and...!"
It wasn't the latest screech of Giant Crow, much closer than he had thought it would be so soon, what froze Kazuto's heart, no. It was the screams and sobs of a child, followed by Selka and Azariya's shouts of horror, making him turn in time to see the last of the church's orphans, turning the corner on the farthest end of the street and limping towards them, his left leg clearly hurt and tears staining his face.
Giant Crow saw him too, if the way in which it screeched and slightly altered its flying path was anything to go by, one of its massive claws opening hungrily.
There was no time to think. No time to hesitate. No time to even second-guess the idiocy he was committing.
All that the gamer knew was that, when he was aware of what was going on once again, he was already halfway down the street, running so fast his legs hurt, heading towards the frozen child while the beast's titanic shadow obscured everything.
"What are you doing?!" came a terrified scream from behind him, probably from Selka.
"Being a Hero." subconsciously answered Kirito before doing his best to skid to a halt, grab the kid and, in one swift motion, thrown him towards the closest wall, making him scream in pain.
Not the most heroic thing he had ever done, from a standard point of view.
The massive claw that scissored the air around him at the speed of a car a second later begged to differ. Especially when he had to twist himself in a painful way and hold onto it to not become a crushed piece of meat.
Pain, like he had never felt before, hit the boy all at once, but he was unable to scream because of the air being brutally driven out of his lungs, even as his brain was barely able to force his screaming arms and legs to keep hold of beast's talons' upper part. The world around him moved way too fast, for once not out of his own volition, causing the air to scream as it rushed all around his body. Also, he was very sure a couple of his ribs had broken.
Even so, the gamer couldn't help the feral bloody smile that blossomed into his face once, after his breath shallowly returned, he turned around to see the form of Sister Azariya rushing to the crying kid's help, Selka and Gasupht staring at his every-second-further-away silhouette with shock, disbelief, awe, and horror.
Not bad for someone without superpowers, if he was allowed to say it himself.
The newest screech/roar coming from Giant Crow brought his mind back to reality, however. Especially when he realized the sharp turn the Mysterious Being's wings were taking.
It had grown tired of the 'sweeping' approach. It was going to land on the village and tear everything apart to feed.
The image of Selka, the children and every innocent down there shot through his mind.
"I...can't let it do that..."
Gritting his teeth, the Kirito forced himself to ignore the searing pain filling his body as he tried to pull himself up.
As he had known, it was useless. He wasn't strong enough and the pain was too intense for him to manage 'climbing' up the massive bird. And even if he could, what would that even accompl...?
The massive bird violently spun on the air, just as they flew over the forests surrounding Rulid. Finally finding the strength to scream, the black-haired boy felt the world spin around him in every direction as he saw heaven and earth change places in his vision several times...before he painfully landed on a feather-covered back, his hands instinctively gripping the jet-black plumage.
Tears stinging from his eyes, the gamer glared forward and dragged himself like a possessed, half-crawling/half-rushing towards the creature's head. He was forced to stop, though, upon arriving at the massive neck, realizing that if he tried to keep going he would without a doubt lose his balance and fall.
Cursing to everything under the sky, Kirito looked down towards the body of Giant Crow, idly wondering for a moment what would happen if he 'died' in this world.
His life certainly couldn't be in any danger, despite the extremely realistic sensations and even pain. Maybe he would 'respawn' somewhere? Or maybe he would immediately wake up and get out of the Soult Translator, free from this crazy world where Kikuoka had clearly gone too far 'playing God' and using the concepts from a series that shouldn't have been mixed with a reality filled with actual people. In the worst-case scenario, he would maybe end up 'trapped' in his own corpse on this world, until whatever had happened in reality for the government agent to put him inside the STL was over and he was taken out. A bit traumatic, but nothing he couldn't deal with.
...except that he couldn't do that. He couldn't allow himself to die. Not only because that would mean he had given up, but also because then the people of Rulid would be doomed.
His own inability to do anything against the impossible monster didn't matter, what did was that he seemed to be only one actively willing to do something. As if the average people within that world were unable to even muster the intent to fight against adversity.
It was a chilling thought...but it didn't make them any less deserving to be saved. They were still humans. People, not just a very advanced experiment.
Selka's fears about her own 'abnormality' from yesterday were a clear proof of that.
"I need to...stop this thing..."
Shakily, the boy forced himself up, half-kneeling on Giant Crow's body, vaguely realizing that, if the monstrous bird did another stunt like before, he would fall to his death for sure.
He was just a normal teenager here. He had no power to stop a Disaster Level-Demon Mysterious Being. He had no superpowers, no magic, no weapons. Nothing.
Except for his bare fists.
"Strength...who gives a shit about that?"
Slowly, the boy raised his arm over his head, glaring down at the massive beast...
"I'm going to save them...I'm going to survive...and then I'm going to get back to my friends...my family!"
...and so, he reared back his fist...
"So, even if I have to break my goddamn fists punching you...I'm taking you down! You hear me, you oversized dove?!"
...and, with a roar, he punched.
But in that moment, that second, that fleeting instant when his fist started to descend...something that could only happen and be truly felt in that bizarre world created by Seijirou Kikuoka's distorted vision happened.
For the first time ever, in a way that would change countless lives forever...Kirigaya Kazuto felt his Will.
Warmth. Beautiful. Limitless.
The image of his friends...his family, smiling at him, laughing with him, was the fuel behind it.
Asuna. Suguha. Argo. Lisbeth. Silica. Philia. Strea. Yui. Sachi. Sasamaru. Tetsuo. Ducker. Keita. Sinon.
His reasons to fight. His reasons to live.
In answer to his determination...the secret System that existed within the 'Underworld' was triggered with a force mightier than it had ever before.
The Will was acknowledged.
Imagination took shape.
The World was Overwritten.
And for a single instant, all of Incarnated into the Reality where Kirito's fist descended...and the Chains' hold loosened a minuscule fraction.
During that instant, the tip of his knuckles and his closed fist started to be covered in a familiar white glove...
But then, the fleeting instant was over, the white fabric vanished into shards of light when the boy's fist was a couple inches from making contact, the World reasserting itself as the Chains tightened once again.
The half-formed shockwave that the half-swung PUNCH created, however, didn't, and it crashed against Giant Crow's neck with a thunder-like roar.
All across the Underworld, all the way to the Dark Territory's most distant edges, the sound of the Mysterious Being's neck and head snapping downward with brutal violence seemed to echo.
In a castle of black obsidian, several gazes (Humans and not) shot towards the west.
On the depths of the Human World's forests, a massive creature stirred for a moment, before falling asleep once again.
Deep under a lake, a green-skinned being wearing a crown looked towards the surface.
Hidden within the dead husk of a tree, two fugitives, one looking sick and the other fearful, looked around, startled.
In a building filled with people helping each other, the rider's attention was drawn towards the north, her loyal partner doing the same.
Under the center of the world, a librarian's ancient gaze narrowed, her small hands closing around her oversized staff.
Atop the white tower that governed the world, the Ruler's eyes opened.
And at the edge of Reality, [DESTINY] made the Omniversal equivalent of a tiny smile, seeing how the entire 'board' shook for an instant before the Chains reasserted themselves.
It was a minuscule step, yes...but one in the right direction.
Ignorant of all this, Kirito stared in amazement at what he had done...for the half second before the now blind-flying beast brutally crashed against the only thing big and powerful enough in thousands of kilometers (Besides the Mountain Range itself) it would have been able to do so.
Given that, unknown to him, Fate was against it and his Destiny had been sealed, it was a wonder how he had the luck to accidentally have made Giant Crow slam against the Gigas Cedar, but sadly he didn't really have the time or the mind to process any of that, for in that moment inertia and gravity remembered his existence and he was flung forward even as the rest of Giant Crow's body 'folded' faster than he 'flew', the monster's massive left wing slamming against the black tree and breaking in a terribly painful-looking way.
Ironically, though, this saved the boy's life as he slammed against the Mysterious Being's massive feathers instead of the cedar's trunk, which would have killed him instantly, reducing the accident from 'lethal' to just 'horribly painful'.
For a single moment, as the whole body of the titanic bird slammed against the centuries-old tree, several of its roots being all but torn from the earth as it slightly tilted backward, the world seemed to hold its breath as both impossible entities Lives and power 'clashed'.
The Gigas Cedar won, and as such it was Giant Crow who got to fall the 20 or so meters towards the ground, its massive bulk making the earth shake through the entire Rulid area and many black leaves to fall upon it like rain.
Grunting, screaming and groaning, the minuscule in comparison figure of a certain gamer rolled down from it, finally stopping several meters away over the cold grass, his scratch-filled face staring towards the sky despite his closed eyes.
He hurt all over, breathing seemed like the biggest effort he had ever done, he couldn't feel his right hand and he was pretty sure another of his ribs broke, not to mention the blood that he could taste in his lips and through the tears filling his nigh-ruined clothes...but he had done it.
He had killed the absurdly broken monster without any superpowers and survived.
Ignoring the agonic pain it caused him, Kirito laughed like he hadn't done since he had memory, the weird mix of joy, hysteria, and pride making his very soul tingle.
"Did you see that, everyone? Even something like this...won't stop me from doing the right thing and still go back to you a..."
An inhuman growl stopped the boy's laugh cold, his gaze snapping to the side to behold the horrible and impossible sight of Giant Crow's head, one of its eyes smashed into a pulp, slowly moving towards him, the Disaster Level-Demon monster seemingly ready to kill him before dying himself, a beak filled with sharp and bloody teeth opening weakly, ready to tear the defenseless gamer apart...
"Not today."
...and then the sound of something cutting through the air muted everything else for Kirito, the sight of an axe flying like a tomahawk and cleaving through the bird's skull leaving him dumbfounded.
For an instant, Giant Crow froze as what remained of his soul tried to understand where the axe lodged in his brain had come from. Then, its Life reached 0 and it simply fell down to the side, dead, its Fluctlight being mercilessly deleted from the World.
Slowly, the black-haired boy looked towards the edge of the forest that surrounded the Gigas Cedar's clearing, just in time to see his savior exit his throwing pose, their gazes meeting.
Shocked dark eyes met ice-cold emerald one. Time itself seemed to stop for a second.
On the 'board' of Reality, the raven-like pawn vanished, slain, the Black-White King no longer in check, having been saved by the one who would become his most loyal companion.
Back in the Gigas Cedar's shadow, though, the unknown boy finally spoke, a mix of awe and disbelief in his tone as he regarded the gamer with neutral eyes.
"That...was the stupidest and most foolish thing I have ever seen and also, I'm pretty sure, that the world has ever seen." as he said those words, the stranger walked closer to the fallen hero, still looking at him as if he was mad. "Why would you even do that? Why are you so eager to die?"
Kirito, for his part, was just marginally listening to his words, too busy taking in the 'unusual' appearance the boy, who looked around his age, had.
His flaxen-colored hair and green eyes were probably the most normal feature he had and, like everyone he had seen since arriving to that world, he didn't have any specific Western or Eastern racial features.
However...his skin was pale. Unnaturally so, to such degree he should have been sick to the point of dying, yet not only he stood strong, he also had apparently no problems to throw an axe, clearly meant to be used with two hands, hard enough to kill Giant Crow. There was also the fact that his clothes looked bizarre, his gray pants seeming a size too big for him (Secured by what seemed like 2 child-sized belts put together to make a bigger one), with the cuffs having been torn apart enough to not difficult his movement, leaving small, if irregular, parts of his legs exposed near his worn-down boots. On the other hand, his shirt seemed a size too big, probably having been cream-colored at one point, but now so worn-down it could barely be seen, and the dark long coat he wore over it seemed to have been torn and stitched together so many times it shouldn't be a single piece of clothing anymore.
But what truly drew the black-haired boy's attention was what he was still holding tightly on his left hand: A beautiful sword like none he had ever seen, even Liz's most precious creations (As much as it pained to accept such about his dear blacksmith/girlfriend) not reaching the sheer beauty of its ice-color and rose-like motifs.
"Who...?" started to ask the gamer before stiffening, a loud gasp escaping his body as he felt his entire being shiver from a sudden flux of something filling him. "Wha...?!"
"Huh...don't worry, it should end soon enough. First time usually isn't all that noticeable, even less right away, but...I guess something like THAT thing, especially considering you did most of the work taking it down, should give an insane rise to your Authority."
Kirito didn't know the meaning behind the strange boy's words, just idly having a vague idea of it, but he was too busy feeling it happen to really care.
Suddenly, he felt...more. Not in the 'I have suddenly become super-strong!'-way, but more as if his entire existence, the very concept of what made him 'a person of that world' had been 'elevated'. Put into a level above what he was before.
Was this...how 'Leveling Up' a ton of levels would feel like, if such a thing could actually be felt? Not that he could say, of course, given his unique 'circumstances' in all the virtual worlds he had been before, and he was pretty sure none of his friends had ever experienced the strange and overwhelming sensation he was feeling in that moment...
"Just...who the hell are you...?" gasped the black-haired boy while looking at his silent and pale savior.
"Who am I...?" muttered the green-eyed one while looking down at his blade before his gaze moved past the gamer and towards his axe, still embedded in the massive bird's skull. "...I'm no one."
There was no time for Kirito to even question the meaning behind those words, for in that moment a voice he was starting to grow used to was heard screaming his name.
"KIRITO!" shouted Selka as she rushed into the Gigas Cedar's clearing, almost tripping several times because her apprentice's clothes weren't exactly made for running until being left out of breath.
For a second, the young girl let her attention linger on Giant Crow's corpse, before her gaze finally settled on the bloody form of the black-haired boy and she gasped before running towards him with relieved tears in her face, all but throwing herself at him with open arms, making him grunt in agonic pain.
"Gah! Sel...ka...?"
"Thank the Goddess, thank everything...you're alive...you're okay..." whispered the Sacred Arts Apprentice as she sobbed softly. "For a moment, I feared...I thought...that...you..."
All of a sudden, words seemed to fail Selka, deeply confusing the gamer as he saw the girl starting to pale and shake, her eyes wide and fixed upon a single thing.
Following her gaze, Kirito saw how his mysterious savior was staring back, a mix of nostalgia and regret filling the smile he now sported.
"Selka-chan...long time no see."
"N-no...no way...I saw you die...everyone...everyone saw...!"
"...I got better." humorlessly chuckled the pale warrior.
"Selka?! What's wrong?!" demanded the black-haired boy while trying (And failing) to raise his pained and broken body to protect his kinda-friend, now staring warily at the newcomer whose presence seemed to thoroughly terrify the girl.
"Ho-how...how are you here...Eugeo?!" screamed the young apprentice while trying to look brave, actually standing over the downed hero and seeming ready to use herself as a shield.
"Same way someone turned into this thing and flew all the way here to destroy Rulid, or that you can see things before they happen." simply answered the one called Eugeo as he walked towards Giant Crow's corpse, which had started to...'shine'. "Our world has gone mad, Selka. I'm sure you have more than noticed it too by now...everything and everyone is...changing."
As he said those last words, the green-eyed boy reached out and let his falling axe return to his grip, idly looking as the Mysterious Being's remains vanished into shards of lights, leaving nothing behind except the marks his crashing caused on the earth surrounding the black tree.
With a chilling revelation, Kirito realized he had just seen what 'death' was like in that world.
Just a brief instant in which whatever you were remained before vanishing forever. No bodies left behind for your loved ones to bury...nothing but their memories to remember you.
"...it's been so long..." muttered Selka while looking down from the dual-wielding (Axe+Sword) warrior towards the silent black-haired boy, biting her lips while she tried to hold back her tears. "After Onee-chan was taken...why? If you survived...why didn't you come back?"
"For the same reason you don't go around saying you can predict the future. I'm different...something that others can't accept, but, sadly, not as easily concealable as you." bitterly answered Eugeo while looking at the sky, as if lost in distant memories. "Even if I could tell my family how I survived a sword through the chest and a fall from over 40 Mels to the cold river without them thinking I'm a monster...I'm a criminal, remember? I tried to stop the Integrity Knight from taking Alice. I even attacked him...violating the very First rule of the Taboo Index. In everyone's eyes, I probably deserved to die that day..."
"Tha-that's not true!" fervently interrupted the young girl while taking a step forward. "I...I never once thought...that...you...ugh...!"
Grunting in pain, Selka's hand shot towards her right eye, a strange throbbing sensation having suddenly assaulted her mind when the thought of saying how the boy hadn't been wrong in betraying the world's law to save her sister appeared on her mind.
"Stop. Don't try to force yourself, or the 'Seal' will act up...and believe me, you don't want that to happen." warned Eugeo with a deadly serious tone, making the young girl freeze. "Even those of us who have even our Stacia Windows different from everyone else's are still under the watchful eyes of the Axiom Church. Don't give them a reason to come for you like they did for Alice...also, I think your crazy friend could really use some healing before he ends up dead."
Squeaking in shock, the Sacred Arts apprentice spun around towards the sheepish-looking Kirito, who had been trying to piece together what he could of their conversation despite the pain, and didn't even bother trying to apologize before quickly kneeling at his side and chanting for Healing Sacred Arts as fast as she could, embarrassed tears in her eyes.
The black-haired boy raised an eyebrow, even as he felt some of his pain fade, at noticing that, effectively, the 'Sacred Tongue' of these arts was English.
Native language Japanese, Sacred Tongue English...Kikuoka really had no imagination, did he?
"Ki-Kirito, I'm so-sorry! Ju-just, take a deep breath, okay? I-I'm not good enough with my Arts to fully heal you, but Sister Azariya will be able to!" quickly spoke Selka while finishing closing most of the boy's superficial wounds before helping him back to his feet. "E-Eugeo, please, help me take him back to the...!"
"Selka..." called the gamer with a tense tone, his gaze having moved from the young girl back to the clearing. "He's gone."
A quick look was more than enough for the apprentice to see the truth of his words, but hearing a small groan of pain was more than enough for her to swallow her confusion and bit her lips as she helped the wounded hero back to the village.
Watching them in silence from atop one of the many trees surrounding the cedar's clearing, the one called Eugeo mused in silence, lost in his memories.
Memories of happier times, with a young girl of golden hair, eyes the color of the sky and a smile that illuminated the world. Of helping her take care of the tea-haired girl walking away with that strange boy, and...and...no one...else...
Shaking his head to dispel the strange last line of thought, the teen sheathed his blade back on his side and slung the growling white axe on his back. Then, after a second of hesitation, he made a familiar symbol in the air and let the Window that reflected his very existence appear.
For a moment, his eyes stopped over the extra line of text written in the Sacred Tongue that no 'normal' person would have, before they once again moved towards the impossibility that always shook his soul to see, no matter how used he was to it.
'Life: 0/156931'
Without a sound, the green-eyed boy closed his Stacia Window, before looking towards the sky and starting to walk deeper into the woods.
He could go for a long walk through the forests before returning to the cave...
Kirito wasn't sure what to expect from Rulid Village when Selka finally managed to drag him close enough to see the buildings themselves, but, despite his previous experiences, seeing people rushing out to help him and Selka while many cried thanks and others cheered until losing their voice certainly wasn't it.
Maybe because he was used to not be feeling like he was just broken in many pieces several times after he managed to 'save' the day. But even so, when the children of the church managed to rush between the people surrounding him and trap him in a collective hug, he didn't even care about the pain or how Selka was trying to get them off him saying how he needed to see Sister Azariya right away.
All that filled him was a sense of accomplishment and a warm happiness. Their teary smiles and their gratefulness made the black-haired boy feel that everything had been worth it.
True, no one had actually seen what he had exactly done to get Giant Crow to crash against the Gigas Cedar, but they were all ecstatic that he had managed the impossible and saved them all. He was the Hero of Rulid now.
And that night, as he was resting in his room on the church and staring at his right hand, he idly wondered now only how had managed that seemingly impossible feat back there, when now his healed body and fist, no matter how much he closed it, felt as simple and normal as always, the sensation of having 'gained a ton of Authority' aside.
The mysteries of that peculiar world swam through his head. The 'Blessings', the strange reactions of its inhabitants, the feeling of something looming over everything...
But most of all, the unexplainable certainty that finding the answers would help him find a way back home.
After all, standing around and just hoping Kikuoka pulled him out was definitively not his style, especially when he was still not sure of how exactly he had ended in his current situation. Therefore...
"...that Eugeo guy. He looked as if he knew a lot of things most people don't." muttered the gamer while closing his eyes and sitting up, before looking down at the plain clothes he was now wearing as 'his' were being repaired by Selka (She truly was a sweet girl). "...okay then, let's go find him."
Standing up while idly realizing that his bad habit of talking alone seemed to come back full force every time he was separated from his family for too long, Kirito quickly and stealthily made his way out of the church and then of the village without any problem.
It wasn't particularly difficult, really, seeing as not only everyone seemed to expect everyone else to respect the time in which one shouldn't be out in the fields anymore, even the city's guard had gone home slightly earlier than usual because of the madness that took place before.
In silence, keenly aware of the forest's sounds around him, the black-haired boy arrived at the Gigas Cedar, stopping for a moment to look towards the massive black tree, admiring how much more ominous yet impressive it looked under the moonlight.
He also wondered why he felt the strange need to punch the thing until it fell down, but quickly dispelled the silly notion with a deep breath.
Then, he let his perception of the World around him sharpen beyond all human limits and felt it slow down in his eyes. With barely a thought, he tilted his head to the side with the calm practice of someone who had been forced to know his 'limitations' in the real world and now accepted they were also present in this virtual one.
It wasn't anything impressive, especially when compared to what he could usually do as 'Kirito', but it was more than enough for the sharp and beautiful blade to soar past his face without touching him and impale itself on the black tree's bark with a whistling sound. As he turned around with his best 'Saitama face' on, the boy also noticed how the weapon was never intended to actually harm him, but he preferred not having to deal with the typical 'small cut on the cheek to show how dangerous I am' cliché.
"Now that was just rude." calmly commented the gamer with his now emotionless face, internally smirking at the surprised look on the green-eyed boy's face. "I just wanted to have a civilized conversation with you, after all."
"...let me throw your earlier question back: Who are you?" questioned Eugeo while tightening the grip on his axe, which, Kirito could swear, was growling from time to time. "That thing you did before...I thought it was a 'Blessing', but it doesn't fit. If you had been able to do something like that since the beginning then that creature wouldn't have been to give you so much trouble, not to mention you wouldn't have done so in a way that almost killed you..."
"I'm a person from another world that's beyond the stars and I have no idea how I ended here." answered Kirito with a completely straight face, making the green-eyed boy freeze. "As for how I did that before, I'm afraid I'm not sure, except that it seemed like a temporary reflection of certain...let's say, 'abilities' that I have access to under specific circumstances back where I come from."
"...what?" was all that the shocked teen could say, fully lowering his axe.
"Exactly what you heard. I...really need to go back home. My friends...my family must be worried sick about me, and I sure as hell want to go back to them, but I have no idea about this world beyond what I have been told in Rulid, mostly by Selka...but it's clear there is much more to this world than that." continued the gamer while ignoring the other's bewilderment. "And seeing how you seemingly know more about these dark and abnormal secrets than anyone I have met in this entire region is even willing to think about, besides Selka to some degree..."
"...heh...hah...ahahahahahah!" laughed Eugeo after a few seconds of silence, almost letting go of his now silent weapon as he all but doubled over from the laughter, Kirito feeling how a smile of his own broke his Saitama-face, for some reason. "Oh, Gods above...you're being serious, aren't you?"
"Do I look like I am joking?" asked the black-haired boy with a small smirk, wondering why he felt so...at ease with this strange dual wielder.
"...fair enough." was all that the green-eyed teen said before casually raising his hand and, to the gamer's surprise, have his sword fly out of the Gigas Cedar and back to his hand, catching it with casual easiness. "And I think that, given the madness filling this world of mine, what you did is probably not that strange."
"...did you just use psychic powers? Or maybe...The Force?"
"...the what?"
"Fo-forget it, just me being silly for a moment..." sighed Kirito while shaking his head. "Really, though...how did you do that?"
"By concentrating very hard." smirked the dual wielder while putting his axe back on the strap of his back.
"...I was being serious this time, you know?"
"No, no, I'm not joking, believe it or not!" quickly reassured Eugeo while looking to the side, sighing himself before looking back straight into the black-haired boy's eyes. "I can't boast of being a master of it or understanding how it works, but...let's just say there is a 'power' beyond the Curses or Blessings of the Gods, one different from the Sacred Arts too. One that anyone can use, as long as they have a strong willpower and a firm...belief, for lack of a better term."
"So...like a prayer or something like that?" theorized the gamer while frowning, looking down at his fist with a sudden suspicion.
"Not exactly. More like...a determination, I guess? The strong belief not in the Gods, but that you CAN do something. Be it something that you usually do with more strength or ability than usual...or something that shouldn't be possible at all."
"Like having your sword fly back to you through the air with just a thought?" muttered Kirito while closing his eyes.
"Yes. I have seen very few use it like that, though, mostly unconsciously making their attacks stronger or becoming able to escape when they shouldn't be able to. As far as I know, the more 'impossible' something is, the more effort it takes for your 'wish' to make it into Reality. Like cutting down an enemy you shouldn't be able to or..."
"Beating anyone with One Punch, no matter how strong they are." whispered the black-haired boy with a sudden epiphany, his eyes shooting open while looking down at his hands again. "Can it really be that simple...?"
"Uhm...yeah, I guess? Though that seems a bit unbelievable, even for this place, if you ask me..."
"Well, in my world we don't have 20 meters-wide (Uhm, you call them 'Mels' here, right?) crows that randomly attack cities, so I guess we're even." chuckled the gamer with a small shake, getting the green-eyed boy to laugh back. "Though I got to say...you're being way more open about this than I thought. In my experience, the silent mysterious types like you aren't as friendly at first, especially with me..."
Of course, Philia could count as a big exception, but it had taken quite some time for her to change, not exactly something that happened in 5 minutes like with the pale teen...
"Yeah...now that you say it...I don't know why, but...I feel as if I can trust you. As if..."
A green-eyed kid complained about the heat while swinging the axe against the black tree, a black and formless shadow doing push-ups beside him...
"...I had known you for a long time. Must be because you're from another world, as everyone from here puts me on edge since I was eleven..."
"You mean back when you di...?" Kirito abruptly closed his mouth, realizing he had talked more than he should. "I...sorry, I shouldn't have brought up..."
"When I 'died', right? Don't worry, I don't mind, and you're right. Besides, I kind of suspected Selka-chan would have already told you about me, if not before then right after what happened earlier for sure. She seems to really trust you too, for some reason." calmly replied Eugeo while taking a few steps to the side, looking down at the bluish blade still held in his left hand with a sad smile. "I bet you're wondering about it too, right? What makes me 'different', like Selka-chan. What could possibly drive an 11-years-old boy to hide alone on his own after surviving what should have been a sure death, instead of trying to go back to his family in fright, no matter how big of a crime he committed..."
"I...I don't really..." tried to stop him the black-haired boy, before stopping when the green-eyed teen turned to look at him, with a hollow smile and glint in his eyes that sent shivers down his back.
Those eyes...he had seen similar ones before, though much worse and deeper in those cases. In Red-Eyed Xaxa. In Equinox.
The eyes of someone who felt their lives didn't matter when compared to the single purpose that drove them.
"Well, why don't you let me show you?" spoke Eugeo while raising his blade, the gamer tensing more than before as his instincts screamed at him to stop the other boy. "Don't blink, though, or you may miss it."
And then, unceremoniously, the pale teen gripped the sword with both hands and stabbed himself through the heart.
Tossing around in her bed for the umpteenth time that night, Selka Zuberg resigned herself to the fact that she definitively wasn't going to get any sleep anytime soon, so she got out of her bed and stared silently through her window, towards the half-hidden form of Lunaria.
For a moment, she entertained the thought of going to Kirito's room and check if he was fully recovered from his earlier ordeal, before shaking her head and blushing furiously at the idea.
That boy...she just knew he was the answer she had been looking for, the one the Goddess of the Moon had sent her way to fulfill whatever Destiny was expected of her, but at the same time...that haunting sense of trust and familiarity she got every time she talked with him refused to leave her.
That's why she had decided that helping him get back to his world would take priority for her over trying to discover what he was supposed to mean for her Destiny. No matter what it took, she would find a way to help him get back to his family, for she knew very well how it felt to have someone you loved dearly be taken someplace you couldn't hope to reach them.
...at least that's what she had thought before what happened that morning. Seeing him put his life at risk against something as unbelievably terrifying, hopelessly out of his reach, for the sake of people he hadn't known for even a full day, and, despite the impossible odds...succeeding.
Hero. There was no other way to describe him. Even seeing Eugeo impossibly alive couldn't compare to what she, and probably most of the village, had felt when they saw the massive monster crash against the Gigas Cedar and fall to its death.
Compared to that...what could she hope to do that could even come close? What usefulness in getting back home could someone like her have for someone like him?
"There is one single thing."
Biting her lips at the traitorous thought, the young girl's gaze moved towards the cloth-covered form resting on her table, as innocent as always, despite the 'power' of the object it held within.
Well...that was not entirely true. After all, for anyone else besides her, the Crystal Ball would be just...that. A piece of crystal somehow crafted into a perfect sphere, for no apparent reason.
No reason beyond letting her use her 'Blessing' to its utmost potential, at least.
That, the power to 'See the Future', was the only thing Selka Zuberg had that no one else possessed, and that could potentially help Kirito to get back home. Certainly, she hadn't been able to make proper sense of the extremely vivid visions she had last night when using it, not to mention she hadn't been able to talk with Kirito about them earlier because of the day's events, but now she felt that, with the correct focus, she could see something more specific, perhaps along the lines of what she truly needed to know.
It was strange, how easy theories and ideas about how to control her Blessing came to her, despite having spent most of her conscious life trying to keep it hidden, contained, away from her mind...
Ignoring the vaguely familiar pulsation she felt on her right eye for a moment, the Sacred Arts apprentice stood up, walking towards her table with a sense of purpose and uncovering the simple yet strangely unnatural form of the crystal ball.
For a single moment, she hesitated, remembering the backlash of her previous attempt, not to mention the fact that this time there was no one with her to help in case something went wrong, but...
"...Onee-chan wouldn't be scared."
Using that single thought as a driving force, Selka cast her hesitations aside and put her hands over the sphere of glass, staring into its depths with a single question filling her mind.
"How can I get Kirito back home?"
For a moment, nothing but her faint reflection stared back.
And then...
The sky burning, almighty Chains holding Everything prisoner...
The World turning against itself, monsters and men fighting against each other and among themselves, nothing but who they served mattering...
6 pillars of light, wielding the name of 'Heroes' rising among the Chaos, ready to oppose it all despite the World itself rejecting all of them...
Knights clad in armors of lies facing them, under the guidance of their Immortal Puppetmaster...
A caped figure made of white and black emptiness and golden voids with eyes holding a helpless boy by the throat, squeezing the life out of him...
A crying girl praying. A golden knight screaming for the truth. An ancient child without hope. A rider of justice who forgot herself. A boy wishing for death. Two lost souls wishing for someone to guide them...
...the cave at the North, connecting to the Dark Territory. Whispers and forgotten memories filling it, and...and...!
Your answer awaits you there. Now.
Gasping for breath, the young girl's eyes shot open as she fell on her ass, hands shooting to her chest as she tried to take as much air back into her lungs as she could, idly aware of how feverish she suddenly felt. Even so...
"The Northern Cave. I...I have to go..." whispered the apprentice while shakily standing up.
Trying to interpret and understand the other things she had seen could come later. Right now, she had to get to the cave, in that very moment, if she wished to know how to help Kirito get back home.
Selka didn't even think about going to warm the black-haired boy, or tell him to come with her, reasoning that he would still be exhausted from earlier and that this was just something quick she would be done with very soon.
She also didn't question how easy it was for her to put on her casual clothes, sneak out of the church and then the village, without a second thought for how late it was or what her family or Sister Azariya would think. Something that she would have never even been able to entertain as a thought before.
As if her Destiny was to be there tonight. As if Fate itself was guiding her to the Northern Cave.
Only when she was already deep within the blackened and cold cavern, only a small Luminous Element called forth by Sacred Arts illuminated her path, did the young girl stop to think about what she was doing, shivering from both the cold and the sinister aura the place gave.
She was almost starting to feel that maybe she should return and then come back in the morning, maybe with Kirito accompanying her...when an unexpected whisper made her very soul freeze.
'...shouldn't be here...'
"Wha...? Onee-chan?!" shouted the Sacred Arts apprentice while looking around, desperately searching from the source of the familiar whisper. "Is that you, Alice-neechan?!"
Desperation and Hope fighting within her heart, Selka rushed faster into the cave, the cold water at one side, the icy surface of the ceiling, the strangely reflective rock of the walls...
All of it seemed to be stimulating her Blessing. She almost felt she could see shadows and glimpses everywhere, and that stopping for a moment would let her see things. Things none should know, things she would be better off not knowing, and even things that many would do anything to know.
She didn't stop for any of them, even ignoring the vision of what seemed an archer dressed strangely holding back a massive and wicked cleaver with her bow, which was quickly cracking, as she turned a corner and was forced to look deep into a wall for a moment.
'...no...Selka...stay back...'
"I-I'm coming, Onee-chan!" shouted the apprentice with tears in her eyes, the original reason she had gone there for completely forgotten, nothing but seeing her sister again now filling her mind. "I am...!"
The moment she entered a bigger part of the cave, however, her voice died in her throat and a knot of fear filled her entire self.
It was not because of the frozen lake with the strangely perfect and almost-circular expanse on its center, as if something massive had once been there, no.
It was because of the small and wild-looking 'camp' that had been set there, even a small fire having been lit on its center, probably to keep the green-skinned creatures that surrounded it warm from the cavern's cold.
A dozen of yellowish eyes immediately was fixed on the paralyzed Selka, the humanoid creatures with primitive-looking swords (More like knives? Machetes?) and only tribal-looking clothing seeming both surprised and curious.
"Humie..."
"A humie!"
"Little humie girl! What is it doing here?"
"Cold and hungry....little humie looks delicious..."
Then, the most menacing-looking of the creatures (Goblins, one of the demon races from the Dark Territory, a part of the girl's mind thought) stood up.
If the fact that he wore scale mail armor and was twice as large as the others (All heavy muscles) didn't make clear enough that he was in charge, then the wrongness his appearance caused would have made it so.
His face was strangely deformed, his eyes abnormally large and a reptilian-like tail coming from his lower back, not to mention the unnaturally massive lips he possessed.
That feeling he gave off....Selka had felt it before, earlier that very same day, from the abomination Kirito called 'Giant Crow', even if the scale this goblin had was laughable in comparison, yet still being enough for a little girl like her to feel nothing but terror.
It was the feeling of something that didn't belong, even among its peers. Of someone who had received something from the Gods that made it different, just like her 'Divine Blessing' did to her.
A 'Divine Curse'.
"Capture the humie." the lizard-like goblin grinned.
Not even bothering to scream, Selka spun around throwing the Luminous Element in her hand behind her in the hopes of blinding the creatures, feeling hope when she heard many of the goblins screaming in surprise...
...which was quickly crushed as she felt something long and repulsive coil around her with unnatural speed, dragging her back through the air and slamming her against the icy surface, the scream of pain escaping her barely being loud because of how the air was driven out of her lungs.
With teary eyes, she watched in horror as the THING waved through the air before slowly retracting, and she realized that it was a tongue.
A monstrously long and strong-looking elongated tongue, which had come out from the leader of the goblins.
"Foolish humie girl! You can't escape from the great Ugachi-sama! I, Lizard Killer, killed so many the Dark God gave me the power of one of them!" laughed the chameleon-like creature as her henchmen surrounding and restraining Selka, who looked at him with a mix of fear and revulsion. "Now then...what to do with you...?"
And as she tried to hold back her tears and think of anything she could do to get out of the terrible situation she suddenly found herself in, Selka Zuberg didn't realize the whisper she heard before seemed to have vanished.
Within the depths of the Nothingness, the now unheard voice wept and prayed...
'Please...save her, you two...'
Kirito didn't realize he had screamed and raised a hand in utter terror until he was already about to take a step forward, shocked at the sudden intensity of his emotion.
Certainly, seeing someone stab themselves out of the blue wasn't something he would ever have expected or reacted positively to, but the boy sure as hell would have expected to feel more horror than anything else.
But the moment the green-eyed teen before him had done so, he had felt nothing but horror, regret, and anger filling his very soul. As if the mere thought of the boy he hadn't known for even a couple hours affected him as much as if it could happen to any of his closest friends...and more.
As if the idea of him dying was something he regretted from the depths of his soul.
However, he didn't really have any time to dwell on those feelings...because he was quickly left dumbfounded as he STARED at the impossibility before him.
Blood dripped through the beautiful blue blade, some even falling to the ground...and yet, Eugeo still stood perfectly upright, the smile on his face seeming unnaturally wrong with the sword piercing both his heart and one of his lungs, sticking all the way through his back.
Then, the dual wielder laughed at the gamer's gobsmacked expression as he casually pulled the weapon out of his body, before grimacing at the blood and the hole in his shirt.
"Damn...should have thought that a bit better. I mean, the look on your face was great, but now I'm going to have to steal another shirt or go around with this mess for quite a while..." lamented the green-eyed teen while swiping his sword to the side, letting the blood shoot away from its blade, staining the grass. "So...do you see now, Kirito?"
Wide-eyed, Kirito SAW. The hole going through the other boy's flesh...and how it was knitting itself back together, at an alarmingly fast rate, creating sinisterly fleshy sounds, until nothing but unblemished pale skin, if still stained by blood, remained, with the strange teen seeming not the worse for wear despite having suffered a lethal wound through 2 of his major organs.
"That's...impossible...but...unless..." spluttered the black-haired boy as another creeping realization filled his mind.
"Well...tell that to the Goddesses. During the last years, I have seen many strange and wicked 'Curses', most as repulsive or scary as the ones wielding them..." started Eugeo while making a symbol in the air and opening his Stacia Window, before quickly spinning it around so that the flabbergasted gamer could see it. "And yet, none of them has ever felt more wrong and unnatural than my so-called 'Blessing'..."
Kirito barely paid attention to his words, as his eyes were glued to the small Window, which he personally knew as a virtual screen.
The fact that it had a pure-white color unlike what he had heart was everyone else's color didn't catch his attention, nor the abnormally large levels of 'Authority' the green-eyed teen apparently possessed. And, something that would have shocked Eugeo if he knew it, the utterly wrong '0' in his Life didn't either.
All he had eyes for were the 3 lines of text, written in Sacred Tongue (Or English, for him), that he was sure no 'normal' Stacia Window possessed.
Divine Blessing.
Rank S
"Number 8." he mentally mumbled, still filled with shock as he looked at the last word.
ZOMBIEMAN
...
...STARTING...
...OPENING REPORT LOG.
The Threat-Level 'Demon' reported earlier in the day was eliminated through unknown means. The Fluctlight has been deleted and its 'Curse' recovered and returned to the 'Cycle', in wait of a new vessel to activate itself again.
The elimination of such a threat without the intervention of the Integrity Knights is worrying. The Anomaly being present in the area has been...01101110 01101111...determined to not have anything to do with the event. Instead, the identification of a rogue Fluctlight believed deceased has been acknowledged in the area, in possession of a rare Blessing. Reporting the following findings:
-Fluctlight #100523: 'Eugeo' (Native of Rulid Village)
-Divine Blessing: ZOMBIEMAN (Rank S). Permanently 'binds' the Fluctlight to its body despite its 'Current Life' being stuck at 0, making them effectively immortal. Grants unnatural regeneration of the whole body. Nothing except the major destruction of several vital organs will make the body or consciousness to cease their functions, and even then the regeneration will still restore it fully. Nothing short of turning the whole body into something akin to 'mincemeat' or complete disintegration can overcome its innate regeneration. Also allows for impressive feats of strength and speed regardless of the Fluctlights' personal Authority thanks to the 'Zombie' body allowing him to ignore the human body's normal limitations to prevent self-destruction, which coupled with its regeneration make it into a fearsome force. Pain is all but removed, but still present.
Threat Level to the Underworld: S (Mid-High)
-Status: The body apparently continues aging because of the Fluctlight's human perception of the World directly affecting it through subconscious Incarnation despite its current 'undead' state. This could cause even deeper emotional problems than the current ones detected down the line. Also, the Fluctlight presents an abnormal psychological state, probably directly caused by the incident that triggered its Blessing's awakening. Self-Destructive tendencies expected.
Fluctlight is suspected to be the reason behind the lack of any reports of attempted raids from the Dark Territory in the Northern Cave area for the last years. Its Authority Levels are unknown but theorized to be abnormally high. Destruction or capture of the Fluctlight is recommended. The S-Rank Blessings are extremely valuable and can't be allowed to exist...01110011 01110100 01101111 01110000 00100000 01101101 01100101...outside the Axiom Church's control. Soliciting sending Integrity Knights to deal with it as soon as possible.
END OF REPORT LOG.
SENDING TO ADMINISTRATOR...
...ADMINISTRATOR AVAILABLE.
WAITING FOR DIRECT ORDERS...
...
...
...h...u...r...r...y...p...l...e...a...s...e...
Next...
Truths unveiled...
Eugeo: Wait...do you mean that...someone from YOUR world may be...guilty of this one going mad?
The black-haired boy's eyes looked at the heavens with anger.
Kirito: I fear so. And if that's true, I'm going to punch their teeth out when I get back.
Eugeo:...get in line.
Danger waiting...
Kirito: What do you mean Selka is gone?!
Azariya: Whe-when I went to her room this morning, she wasn't there...
Guilt guiding...
Eugeo: I can't forgive myself...I was too weak to help her. I won't fail her little sister too.
With a grim look, the gamer nodded towards the sad-looking teen, even as he unfolded what he had brought from the church.
Kirito: Then follow me...we're going to get her back home safe.
Eugeo: Wait...is that supposed to be...a cape?
And determination to stand against the Darkness, with only 2 human fists...
Eyes narrowed, the powerless Hero glared at the smirking goblin.
Kirito: Disaster Level Wolf...Tongue Stretcher.
Ugachi: Foolish humie! Prepare to feel Ugachi-sama's wrath!
Kirito: Not on this life...I'm getting Selka back!
Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':
Chapter 3: The Beginning of a Journey.
Omake: Capes and Roses 2
As he overlooked the Emerald Forest from one of the cliff's surrounding the area where Beacon Academy's 'Initiation Ceremony' was taking place (Far away from the one he knew Ozpin and Goodwitch were doing the same), Kirito couldn't help but wonder at which point of his stupidly long existence he had become able to consider 'Throwing teenagers off a cliff into a forest filled with deadly monsters' as something normal.
The sad answer was that it had probably been back when he was alive, but it had only been the countless millennia as a Heroic Spirit that had allowed him to be fully able to stand back and see such a thing happening instead of stopping it altogether on principle.
Being fair, though, all the prospective students of the 'Hunter Academy' (And he had to suppress a shudder at the memories the word 'Hunter' associated with anyone using 'transforming weapons' brought) seemed to be doing more than fine, from landing without dying (Except that Jaune Arc guy, who had thankfully been saved by a flying spear coming from the Pyrrha Nikos girl, which had somehow not impaled him by a miracle or some hidden power of her) in their crazy Quest to find the 'relics'.
The flawed logic of the 'Partner' system being based on who you first had eye-contact with aside (As Ruby clearly thought when he had seen her ending up partnered with that Weiss girl before he lost sight of them), from his vantage point allowing him a direct view of the 'temple' (More like repurposed ruins, really) where a couple of the most competent students, including Ruby's apparent sister, one grinning Yang Xiao-Long, and that silent bow-wearing girl who was her partner, Blake Belladonna, had already arrived and were clearly waiting for the rest.
The fact that several of those colorful students clearly reminded him or seemed to be blatant references to some fairy tale/historical characters he knew about was blatantly ignored. After all, he had become desensitized to any such things after that time he was summoned in the role of 'Ruler' in that one crazy Holy Grail War in Shirou's Multiverse, with 2 entire Servant Teams pitted against each other (And didn't that bring 'fun' memories in the worst possible way?).
Nothing would ever be weirder than Astolfo the Perfect Crossdresser and Jack the Ripper Loli, after all. Compared to that, one side being taken over by a priest that was also called Shirou and was, in fact, a forgotten Servant trying to 'save' humanity through a crazy use of the Greater Grail was perfectly normal. Though he really wondered what was with him and encountering crazy dark-skinned priests trying to change the entire world, even if Pucci and his Stand had been leagues above Amakusa Shirou...
The Hero's musings about the madness he had experienced during his many Summonings were cut short when his ears picked up a distinct and familiar sound, making him look up and see the massive form of a 'Nevermore' soaring through the air almost above the ruins.
His thoughts about the so-called 'Creatures of Grimm' (And how he really hoped they were just normal world-invading monsters and not something darker like the Hollows, Nobodies and Heartless had turned out to be) weren't what filled Kirito's mind at the sight, though. Nor the bittersweet memories that seeing a 'giant crow' in the sky brought him.
What truly did it was the sight of two familiar figures, one more than the other, hanging from the deadly bird for dear life. And then, for no apparent reasons, how the red one let go of it and fell down from a height and at a speed that would turn any normal human into a bloody mass on impact.
"Heads uuuuup!" screamed Ruby Rose as she fell from the sky like a meteor, under the shocked gazes of her half-sister and her partner...before blinking and finding herself safely in someone's arms, looking up to see a familiar face looking at her with worry. "...Kirito? Is that you?"
"...eh?" blinked the Heroic Spirit in confusion, idly aware of a certain blonde 'knight' flying past them and crashing against a tree just as he landed, the ground cracking as the entire impact bled through his feet and let the red-wearing girl unharmed.
Inwardly, he cursed, having promised himself early that he wouldn't interfere with whatever was happening unless it was a matter of life and death, especially because he just knew that Ozpin guy had cameras all around the forest (And he could really go a Planetary Summoning without a group of very influential and powerful people trying to get rid of him when they were supposed to be centered in helping the last hopes of mankind, as it was a massive annoyance and waste of time...Shinji's world had taught him that). Somehow, though with what little he had seen of the relatively advanced technology of Remnant, that 'how' wasn't really that surprising to consider.
He, fully ignoring the whisper of 'amusement' he could feel coming from his family through his extremely weakened and limited connection with them on the Throne, totally and completely blamed [FATE] for the fact that jumping in to save screaming females as they fell to their apparent death was all but a reflex reaction of his by now.
Fuck that Absolute One.
"...did that guy just jump out of nowhere and grabbed your sister perfectly as she fell from the sky?" asked a blinking Blake to her flabbergasted partner, whose eyes narrowed slightly as she saw the strange boy letting her sister on the ground and apologizing as she casually thanked him. "Also...what the hell is he wearing?"
"Don't make fun of my/his clothes." answered Ruby and Kirito and the same time, one in a defensive tone and the other out of habit, before blinking and looking at each other in surprise, the girl awkwardly laughing in response.
"...talk about synchro..." whatever else the black-haired girl was going to say was interrupted by a happily screaming girl entering the clearing by riding on an Ursa, the imposing Grimm promptly dying, much to her apparent disappointment and the relief of the heavily-breathing boy running after her. "...so, that just happened..."
Shaking his head in amusement, the Heroic Spirit watched as Nora Valkyrie and her 'friend', Lie Ren, got a 'relic' on their own, before looking slightly to the side upon feeling someone stopping beside him and the also amusedly staring Ruby.
"So...care to introduce us, Ruby?" asked Yang with a friendly smile that didn't fool Kirito for even a second.
His own experiences through the eons aside, the feeling of 'Overprotective Older Sibling' was one he was intimately familiar with...though there was also some playful amusement there he wasn't really used to seeing in that mix.
"Uh? How could you not know it right away, Yang?! I was talking to you about him the whole night!" complained the scythe-user while pointing at the Caped Hero's clothes as if it should be obvious. "He's Kirito!"
"...wait, you mean you weren't making all of that up? Your imaginary friend with the 'Superhero costume' actually exists?" questioned blonde girl in shock while looking at the Heroic Spirit up and down, ignoring her sister's 'You thought I was making it up?!'-shouts. "Man...sorry about that, I just didn't think what my sister here was saying about someone showing up to help her stop that criminal and then vanished without a trace was anything beyond her hyperactive imagination acting up...even less when said someone apparently rejected a place at Beacon..."
"Or actually dresses like that in public." commented Blake before blinking in confusion while Jaune entered the clearing assuring everyone he was okay. "Wait, if you rejected getting into the school, why are you...?"
Once again, the totally human girl was interrupted by another surprising sight: That of Pyrrha Nikos rushing into the clearing followed by an angry-looking Death Stalker, her partner screaming her name as if just remembered he had 'left' the girl being chased by a giant killer scorpion.
Kirito would have pondered about that a bit more, if the screaming voice of Weiss Schnee hadn't reached everyone's ears at that moment, making them look up to see the heiress of the most powerful company on Remnant had finally let go of the Nevermore and was falling towards them.
"...Ruby, save your partner." resignedly spoke the caped Hero when it was obvious no one was going to try and do so, the surprised girl looking at him in shock as he held her by the waist and threw her in an angle towards the falling Snow White, ignoring Yang's outrage at the action in favor of watching the suddenly cheering Ruby catching her partner and doing a double spin in the air before landing 'almost' perfectly.
"Yo-you dolt! I can't believe you left me there!" shouted the white-haired girl as 'thanks'.
"We-well, to be fair, I did tell you to jump..." awkwardly commented the scythe-user while standing up and dusting off her 'combat skirt'.
The Heroic Spirit smiled amusedly at the sight, the older girl reminding him of another petite and volatile one, though that one had had pink hair and a penchant for making things explode.
"Uhm, guys...?" muttered Jaune while helping his groaning partner stand up, the massive Grimm that had been stalking (Pun not intended) them roaring as it now rushed towards the entire group, its flying brethren screeching in approval. "I think we have a problem..."
"Grab the relics and go." calmly stated Kirito while pointing out towards the remaining chess pieces (Which brought even more unpleasant memories to his mind), stopping Ruby from charging headfirst towards the incoming scorpion in favor of looking at him. "That's all you need to do if you want to pass the Initiation, right?"
"Bu-but...I wanted to break the Grimm's legs!" whined Nora with a depressed look.
It said a lot about the caped Hero's life that such a declaration didn't even make it to the Top 100 of 'Craziest Things I have ever Heard'.
"It's actually a pretty solid plan, Nora." opened Ren while sending the Heroic Spirit a grateful look, glad that someone who wasn't him was trying to be the voice of reason.
"I second said plan!" declared Jaune, who had just rushed to get one of said chess pieces, before grabbing Pyrrha's hand and all but dragging her away as fast as his legs could take him, the girl too busy looking down at where he was holding her to even think of resisting.
"You heard the ridiculously dressed boy, dolt! Let's get going!" shouted Weiss after having snatched a 'relic' herself, running after the 2 retreating teens without even waiting for her partner.
She really didn't want anything to do with Grimm for the rest of the day, after what the younger girl had put her through.
"Wa-wait, Weiss! I haven't gotten to show you how awesome I am!" complained Ruby before shooting after the white-haired girl by using her Semblance, turning into a little missile of red petals.
"I also vote for not fighting the giant monsters, if it's the same to you." commented Blake while looking at her conflicted partner with a deadpan look in her golden eyes.
"...man, you're all such party poppers." groaned before running after her sister, her Ninja-like new 'friend' following after her, Nora and Ren quickly following cue while the former shouted something about them not going to 'End Last Place' in the 'race'.
"SO sorry that most of us prefer to not fight massive Grimm when we can just run and still get into...wait, why isn't he running?!" interrupted herself the bow-wearing girl while looking back in shock, everyone stopping in surprise at seeing how Kirito hadn't moved from where he stood earlier, a look of deep contemplation on his face as he looked down with a hand on his chin.
He seemed totally unaware of how the Death Staler had decided to change targets and was now rushing at him at bulldozing speeds.
"Why would they even call it Death Stalker, though? Does that species of scorpion exist here? Hell, do even scorpions exist here? I haven't seen any in the entire forest...and now that I think about it, I haven't seen any of the animals most of these Grimm seem to be based off either..."
"KIRITO!" screamed Ruby when she and everyone realized the mumbling 'boy' wasn't going to move away in time. "WATCH OUT!"
Confused at the shout, the caped Hero looked up, in time to see the scorpion-like monster roar and shoot its stinger forward, more ready to crush him than to impale him with the size/speed it carried.
The reaction was all but instantaneous.
"ORA!" shouted the Heroic Spirit while his fist flew forward, barely even making contact with the incoming stinger before the Death Stalker exploded into black and red gore.
Ruby gaped. Weiss' mouth fell open.
Ren's eyes widened beyond its normal limits. Nora froze at his side.
Blake choked on air. Yang stared.
Pyrrha muttered something about 'Impossible' while pointing from the 'boy' to the Grimm. Jaune watched with a mix of shock and utter awe.
On the cliff overlooking the forest, Glynda Goodwitch was looking at the screen of Ozpin's scroll while trying to understand what the fuck had just happened. The headmaster himself had just spit his precious coffee.
And back in the clearing...Kirito blinked several times before looking down at his fist and cursing loudly.
"Damn it! I thought I had finally stopped shouting THAT out loud by instinct...ugh, I know it wasn't his fault, but I'm so blaming Jotaro for that..." complained the Heroic Spirit...before realizing the dumbfounded teens were still STARING at him. "...ehm...you totally didn't just see that."
The lame and clearly fake declaration made, the caped Hero vanishing in a blur of white and black speed. Up in the air, the Nevermore still seemed to be debating if attacking the humans down there was wise or not after what it had just witnessed.
Later that day, Teams RWBY and JNPR were formed. And atop the roof of the particular building of Beacon where he had just heard Ruby Rose being declared leader of her team, Kirito could only sigh in resignation.
"This is going to be one long Summoning..."