Problem Children are coming from Another World, aren't they?
Hiking in the Altai Mountains?
It had been several months since the Problem Children have arrived in Little Garden, summoned by Kurousagi. They were: Izayoi Sakamaki, Asuka Kudou, and Yo Kasukabe.
They joined in a "No Name" community, a weak association in the world of Little Garden. There, they participated in Gift Games, where they use their powers, "Gifts," in matches between other stronger communities. The winner received whatever reward betted at the beginning.
With their powers, the Problem Children dominated every community they encountered as well as befriended many.
Their goal was: to destroy the Maou and take back the "No Name's" flag, name, and honor. However, they weren't even close to getting them back. Instead, they opted to play around.
Today was no different than any other days. After having roamed all over Little Garden and played life-and-death Gift Games, the Problem Children decided to take a hike into the mountains to feel the fresh air of nature.
Their destination was: the Altai Mountains. It was located in a 3-digit Gate, on the northeastern side.
Currently, they were about a third of the way up on a very dangerous mountain route.
"Kurousagi, hurry up!" Izayoi said over his shoulder in an irritated tone.
He was a tall and lean-built young man with wavy blond hair and violet eyes. Dressed in a Japanese uniform, Izayoi resembled the traditional Yankee in Japan.
"Sheesh, Kurousagi, can't you use your Gift or something to move faster?" Asuka also said in an irritated tone.
She was a beautiful young girl with waist-length black hair and pristine white skin. Dressed in a formal red dress, Asuka resembled a Japanese doll and princess.
"If you didn't bring that much luggage, then you might not have to be in the back," Yo said softly but also in an irritated tone.
She was a cute and silent young girl with short brown hair and hazel eyes. Dressed in a long trench coat, T-shirt, and shorts, Yo represented much of the casual trend in Japan. In her arms was a calico cat.
Scolded by the three Problem Children, Kurousagi was in the way back, carrying a mountain-load of luggage in her slender arms.
Kurosusagi was a half-human, half-rabbit girl about 200 to 300 years old, though she looked like a typical 16-year-old girl—and acted like one too. With slim rabbit ears, long blue hair, Kurousagi had a very well-endowed body; and dressed in a black vest, red shirt, miniskirt, and garter belts.
She was fuming with anger. "And just whose fault is it that I have to carry so many?!"
"Not me," the three Problem Children said in unison.
"You demons!"
Before Kurousagi could go on, the ground suddenly shook violently. Then an avalanche rolled on top of them, about to cover them underneath.
"Hey, just whose joke is this?" Izayoi pulled back his fist and then punched straight ahead. A shockwave erupted and destroyed all the boulders above him. His Gift was "Code: Unknown," or more specifically: the Gift to destroy "stars" and other Gifts.
"Dean, I summon you!" Asuka pulled out a red card and raised it to the sky. At once, a red 20-meter-tall metal warrior, an automaton, appeared behind her. It roared and destroyed all of the boulders in an instant. Her Gift was "Authority," the Gift to control people and other Gifts.
"Hang on tight, calico cat!" Yo buried the calico cat into her arms even tighter and then thrust out her right hand. At once, a tremendous gust of air blasted forth, slicing the boulders into pieces of pebble. Her Gift was "Genome Tree," the Gift to talk to animals and make their Gifts her own.
"Ah, thank you, Oujo!" the calico cat said, which only Yo could understand.
On the other hand, no one protected Kurousagi, who dropped the luggage to the ground and scrambled for cover. One boulder almost made pancakes out of her.
"Guys, at least protect me, too!"
"What? Isn't it everyman for himself in this situation?" Izayoi smiled teasingly back.
"It doesn't apply to this at all!"
Izayoi shrugged nonchalantly.
Once more, the grounds shook violently. Only this time, there were no more avalanches. Kurousagi pointed to something above their heads. On top of another hill, there seemed to be a battle.
Infuriated that their hiking was interrupted, the Problem Children quickly made their way up there. Izayoi jumped to great lengths with superhuman leg strength and reflexes. Asuka rode Dean, who started climbing up the mountainside. And holding onto the calico cat, Yo started running in the air, rising higher and higher.
Without a choice, Kurousagi ignored their ruined luggage. Anxious, her long blue hair transformed to pink, giving her a boost in power. Soon, she jumped into the air with the same superhuman leg strength and reflexes as Izayoi, following after the three Problem Children.
Izayoi was the fastest of the three, reaching the hill first. There, he witnessed a battle between two young men in shiny gold armor and a ferocious half-dragon, half-human entity.
"Is that a Maou?" he said to himself, aiming his attention at the half-dragon, half-human entity.
Shrugging, Izayoi didn't care about that. Instead, he wanted vengeance. Without thinking whatsoever, he rushed in at superhuman speed.
Ahead of him, the two men exchanged sword blows towards the half-dragon, half-human entity, but it was no use. No matter how many times they attacked, their blades never damaged the entity's scaly body.
It stood about eight-feet-tall with the head of a black western dragon and a black beard, a hunched back, and the muscular torso, arms and legs of a man, covered in black-silver scales. Steam puffed out of its draconic mouth. But even though it was immensely huge and probably weighed as much two family sedans, the entity moved at a speed far greater than the two warriors.
After taking their blows with no damage, the entity swung its right arm in an arc, smashing their blades to pieces. Then it swung its other arm, knocking them flying back several feet. To finish the job, it began running towards them. With each step, the mountain shook violently.
Before it closed in on the two warriors, Izayoi ran into sight and leaped to the air. The entity raised up one hand, attempting to bat Izayoi away like a fly. Instead, it received a great surprise.
Izayoi threw a fast punch, hitting into the palm of the entity. At once, a shockwave erupted and blasted the entity back several meters. It crashed into the foot of a hill and passing through to the other side. A violent thud shook the mountain, followed by a mushroom-shaped cloud rising to the sky about half a mile away.
By this point, the other Problem Children and Kurousagi reached the hill where the battle had previously taken until Izayoi sent the entity on a long trip.
"What happened here?" Kurousagi asked, running to the two warriors, both still on the ground.
They stood up and bowed gratefully in front of the Problem Children and Kurousagi.
"We thank you for your generous help," said the taller one with long platinum hair and beard. "We will forever be in your debt."
"Never mind that," Asuka said, impatiently. "What was that you two were fighting?"
"If it's something we can help, we will," Yo said, standing beside Asuka.
The two warriors looked at one another, and then looked over their shoulders at Izayoi.
"My name is Ob," said the platinum-haired-and-beard. "This here is Irtysh. We'll gladly accept it."
"We are the last Golden Knights of the Perun Community," Irtysh said. He had sandy blond hair and was quite young. "We are in dire need of help."
"Did you say the Perun Community?" Kurousagi suddenly said incredulously.
"Do you know them, Kurousagi?" Asuka asked.
"Yes. The Perun Community was once the most powerful Northern community in Little Garden, stretching from here all the way down to the 7-digit Gate. Their leader, a Maou as well as a Floor Leader, was Perun, a righteous individual who fought against the other Maou and had followers everywhere. But several hundred years ago, Perun succumbed to an unknown illness and died. Since then, the Perun Community has been dwindling until their powers were no more. Their position as Floor Leader was given to Sandra-sama. It has been rumored that the Perun community disappeared."
"It is as the Moon Rabbit said," Ob said. "For the last hundreds of years, we've been rumored to have disappeared, but truth is: the Maou Veles has trapped us inside a millennium-long Gift Game."
"Is there such a thing as that, Kurousagi?" Izayoi asked, frowning.
"It is possible if the conditions meet it."
"Our community has been subjected to the Maou Veles's Gift Game: Cat and Mouse. Whenever he arrives, we will fight. If he wins, he will take a little piece of our land, food, and people. If we win, the Gift Game will be over, and we'll get everything back. But unfortunately…"
"You guys kept losing, huh."
All of a sudden, the two Golden Knights turned to Izayoi and then kneeled in front of him. He frowned.
"Please lend us your strength, O Great One!" Ob said, bowing his head. "With your strength, we can finally end this Gift Game and get everything back. Please help us!"
"Don't want to." Izayoi's quick answer shocked the two Golden Knights, including Kurousagi and the other Problem Children. "Why should I dirty my hands with another community's problem? Besides, we're on a hiking trip here."
"You've got to help us!" Irtysh pleaded, bowing his head to the ground. "Maou Veles not only took our land, food, and people! He also took the vitality of this holy mountain! If you can defeat him, you can restore this mountain back to the way it was!"
Suddenly hearing this, Izayoi's interest peaked. "Oh, now that you mention it, this place does look dead. So, if I defeat that Maou, then this mountain will look better than it is now?"
"Yes! This mountain was once covered in dandelions, dying this mountain in gold! There were trees, abundant fruits, animals, everything a man could live off for the rest of his life! Please help us!"
"Now that doesn't sound too bad. OK, I'll help you guys."
"Thank you!" both Ob and Irtysh said in unison.
"I hate to remind you," Asuka said, looking into the distance of that cloud from earlier. "But isn't the Maou already finished?"
"No," Ob quickly rejected Asuka's observation. "Maou Veles has even greater power. He isn't defeated that easily. He will be back, but by then, he'll be at full power. Please come with us to the last remnant of the Perun Community. We want to give you something that'll aid you in your fight against Maou Veles."
Looking at one another with an interesting smile, the Problem Children followed the two Golden Knights. Behind them, Kurousagi had a bad feeling.
They traveled over several tall hills, though the trip was relatively short, until they reached a deep valley with a giant blue lake in the middle.
It was almost like an oasis. The water was crystal blue and clear, and they could see all sorts of fish inside. The sands beside the lake were platinum in color. Plus, with the mountains all around it, the lake made a nice relaxing place.
"This is Lake Kucherla, our holy lake and last stronghold," Ob said, walking besides the "No Names."
"Where's everyone?" Yo asked, looking around for any signs of life. All around the beach were weapons half-made, foods that were only half-prepared, and appliances spewed all over the place. It was like a ghost town.
"They're all gone," Irtysh said unhappily. "Maou Veles took all of them. The only thing left to complete his collection is this piece of land, containing Lake Kucherla."
Izayoi looked at the surroundings, keeping track of everything in his mind.
Up ahead, the two Golden Knights led the "No Names" into a large cave, carved into the foot of a tall hill. Inside, there were cave drawings of hunters, animals, beasts, gods, and other creatures. Izayoi made note of this, too.
They walked until they came to a large cavern, where a large iron structure stood at the very center. Inside this iron structure was a gigantic hammer.
"What is this?" Asuka asked, starting to get a strange feeling.
"It couldn't be!" Kurousagi suddenly became fidgety. "This is a real Holy Weapon that only Gods can use! Mortals can't use this weapon! What's the point of bringing us here?"
Ob looked apologetic and bowed his head sincerely. "I'm deeply sorry. Before you guys intervened, Irtysh and I already gave up on fighting Maou Veles. We were going to have him killed us instead. But then this Great One came, our hopes are restored, and we've decided to test him with this Holy Weapon. If he fails, then we will gladly give up our lives to the Netherworld. If not, then we'll serve him for life."
"Izayoi-san, don't listen to them!" Kurousagi frivolously tried pleading Izayoi. "No mortal has ever wielded a Holy Weapon before. If you do, you'll die instantly! So, don't let them get to you!"
"I thought it was strange," Izayoi said with a serious glint in his eyes. "But, if all you wanted is to test my strength, you just have to ask. So, I accept your challenge!"
"Yeah, you tell them, Izayoi—wait a minute! Why did you accept?"
"You said not to listen to them, but never to accept their challenge."
"Oh, you're giving me an ulcer!"
Suddenly, the ground shook violently. A draconic roar echoed within the cavern, causing small debris to fall on top of them.
Then a monstrous voice shouted, "Come out, you brat! The one who attacked me earlier, I'm going to roast you alive!"
"Looks like he's pissed at you, Izayoi-kun," Asuka said, shaking her head. "You really did a number on him."
"We'll take care of him, so you just do what you gotta do," Yo said, nodding at Izayoi.
"That is such a beautiful speech, Oujo!" the calico cat said, once more only Yo could understand.
Nodding at one another like a true team, the two girls left the cavern to meet Maou Veles. Not even three seconds passed did the battle already started.
"Let's get things started then!" Ob shouted, raising his right arm in a salute.
At once, a Geass Roll fluttered out of the ceiling. It was in the shape of a rolled parchment, containing the rules of the Gift Game.
Gift Game: Hammer in the Stone
Host: Perun Community—Ob, the Gold Knight of Perun Community
Participants: No Name Community—Izayoi Sakamaki
Rule: Pull the Holy Weapon out of the stone.
Win: The said participant can keep the Holy Weapon.
Loss: The said participant will face death, along with the Perun Community
After reading the Geass Roll, Izayoi nodded at Kurousagi, who was the referee for the Gift Games. Approaching the iron structure, Izayoi examined the hammer.
It was similar to a mallet with an extremely short grip, roughly ten-foot-tall and weighed as much as a gasoline trunk. There were ancient runes etched alongside the grip and the hammerhead itself.
A small smile appeared on Izayoi's face. "It's just as I thought. The Perun Community is named after the Leader Perun himself, the Slavic God of the Sky and Thunder. He fought against Veles, the Slavic God of the Underworld, Water, and Dragons.
"This cave is the Denisova Cave, home to the race of hominids before the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. And they were the ancient race of people that stretched from the Altai Mountains all throughout Eurasia, becoming the original ancestors of many northern and southeastern European nations as well as Mongolia and parts of China. And this hammer is…Mjollnir, the Mighty Hammer wielded by the Norse God of Thunder Thor! You guys are the precursor of civilization on Earth!"
The cavern shook more violently, indicating that Maou Veles was drawing near. The Maou's roar sounded even closer too.
Kurousagi and the two Golden Knights were filled with unease while Izayoi was still mumbling to himself, smiling as if he found a great secret.
"Izayoi-san, if you don't hurry…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Izayoi stepped up to the giant hammer. When his touched the iron weapon, an electric spark attacked him. But Izayoi ignored this and continued to reach in deeper until he grasped the handle. "I don't know what mortal would be dumb enough to wield a weapon of the Gods, but I will wield it anyways!"
He screamed when he used all of his might to pull the hammer, Mjollnir, out of its resting spot. Instantly, lightning tendrils erupted from the hammer and shot to the ceiling, destroying the cavernous top. Even when Kurousagi and the two Golden Knights cowered away, Izayoi still kept at it.
Suddenly, he was engulfed in bright light.
Outside, the Maou Veles was about 20 meters from the cave.
He wasn't the half-dragon, half-human entity from before. Instead, he took on the form of a 50-meter-long western dragon with black scales and leather wings. His very breath could cause water to boil, and by just exhaling could cause tremendous gust. Plus, his saliva was poisonous as he was the Slavic God of the Underworld and Water. Combing the two elements, he became "the God of Poisonous Waters that sent Men to the Underworld."
At the moment, he was kept at bay by Dean, whose red armor was barely impervious to the poisonous saliva.
"Just keep at it, Dean!" Asuka commanded Dean.
Behind her was Yo. "Sorry, Asuka-san, none of my Gifts is a match against him."
"It is fine, Kasukabe-san. At this moment, we can only hope for Izayoi-kun to take out that hammer."
Suddenly, the ground shook. The two girls thought that Maou Veles was acting up again, but even he was surprised. Apparently, he wasn't the one causing it.
Behind them, the hilltop exploded as hundreds of tendrils of lightning scattered, licking the ground, and shooting into the sky like scary tree branches. And out of all this was Izayoi, flying with the hammer resting on his shoulder.
"Mjollnir has been freed?" Maou Veles said with fear in his draconic voice. "A mere mortal managed to pull out a Holy Weapon? Don't make me laugh!" Angrily, he opened his draconic mouth and shot forth a geyser of boiling poisonous water that could melt the skin off of people.
But the sudden contact between his attack and Izayoi was rendered useless when an electric field activated. Then the electric field expanded like a plasma ball, magnetizing everything within its length. That was the entirety of Maou Veles.
Wielding Mjollnir, Izayoi felt even more powerful than ever in his life. In fact, power was coursing through his every blood cell in his body. He raised Mjollnir with one arm easily despite its great weight and slammed it into Maou Veles in the stomach. A powerful electric shockwave exploded and blasted Maou Veles straight into Lake Kucherla, creating foams on the surface.
"Hey, this bad boy isn't that bad!" Izayoi said with a huge idiotic grin. He hovered above the surface of the lake.
At the same time, Maou Veles resurfaced, looking weaker than normal. It was the side effect of being hit by a Holy Weapon.
"Are you going to finish me off with the lake as well?" Maou Veles questioned Izayoi. "Do you know what would happen if this lake was destroyed? You'll destroy the life force of this mountain!"
"Beats me! It's none of my problem!" Izayoi raised Mjollnir with both hands over his head. Like an electric generator, Mjollnir's head created thousands of lightning tendrils, gathering into a single point to create a giant disc of lightning hovering above Izayoi's head. "Listen up: now eat this!"
Maou Veles's scream was lost when the lightning attack hit him full force. An explosion similar to the atomic bomb erupted, clearing away everything with a furious cyclone. A tall pillar of light flew into the air like a beacon of victory.
There was nothing but furious gales of wind for several long minutes. When it finally dissipated, the valley had been cleanly cut off flat with a giant crater in the middle. At the very center, Lake Kucherla miraculously survived with no signs of Maou Veles.
Out of this rubble, Dean stood up, carrying Asuka and Yo in one hand and Kurousagi as well as the two Golden Knights in the other.
"This is…" Kurousagi couldn't finish her sentence, hit with shock.
"Yes, Maou Veles has been defeated," Ob said with tears in his eyes.
All around them, flowers bloomed at places that shouldn't have flowers in the first place. It started growing more and more until the other mountains were covered in gold petals. If one looked around themselves, they would think that the mountains were gold indeed.
"Look, there are people," Yo noticed, pointing at a child who just suddenly appeared there.
Not only that, but more and more people began showing themselves one by one. Several minutes passed by, and the number of people didn't seem to stop growing. Soon, animals joined them.
"Why are so many people popping out of nowhere?" Asuka asked, shocked.
"Maou Veles took them away by sealing them in a different dimension," Irtysh said, with the same amount of tears in his eyes. "They were frozen in there forever…until now, that is."
Just as shocked as Asuka, the people started embracing one another in delight, happy that the millennium-long Gift Game was finally over. Then they suddenly pointed at the sky, where Izayoi currently was.
He had Mjollnir resting on his shoulder and flying with his blond hair in a mess. From down below, he looked like a teenage angel who had come to save them. The people of Perun Community began cheering for Izayoi, who smiled broadly at them.
Some hours later, Izayoi was standing in front of the iron structure that previously held Mjollnir, which miraculously survive. Behind him was the entirety of Perun Community and the Golden Knights. Hefting Mjollnir off his shoulder, Izayoi raised both his arms and struck the iron structure.
Much to the community's surprise, Izayoi just stuck the hammer back in its place very, very gently.
"Izayoi-sama," Ob said, panicking at the sight. "Why aren't you wielding the Holy Weapon?"
"Why?" Izayoi said with a frown. "It's because that hammer is heavy, and my shoulders are sore. Plus, why would I use it anyways? It's not even mine."
"Izayoi-sama," Irtysh said, kneeling down before him. "Legend says that the one who pulls out the Holy Weapon will become our leader. Please, with your strength, you can lead Perun Community back to its glory days! Won't you reconsider?"
"Huh? Who said anything about me becoming the leader? I only took your game because I want to enjoy this beautiful scenery."
Hearing this news, everyone's jaws went slack. The other Problem Children merely grinned while Kurousagi looked like she wanted everything to be a dream. She had enough experience apologizing to various groups of people for the Problem Children's misbehavior.
"Besides, isn't it more appropriate to say that you should use your own strengths? Don't rely on another person's. Raise your community back to its glory days and then challenge my community into a Gift Game. Only then will I submit to your rule." With that said, Izayoi waved farewell to Perun Community and rejoined with the "No Names" up ahead.
"We won't forget you at all, Izayoi-sama!" the members of Perun Community seemed to be shouting in unison over and over again.
Izayoi smiled and waved farewell once more.
About a mile away, on another hill in the Altai Mountains, where the golden petals covered the mountaintops, the "No Names" gladly enjoyed their lunch after a tiring day of hiking.
Also, Kurousagi seemed to be in a good mood. She was handing out drinks and food to the Problem Children.
"My, Kurousagi, you seem to be in good spirits," Asuka said, drinking tea that was handed to her.
"Yes!" she responded excitedly. "Despite what happened, it turned out very well. We got to help people that were suffering."
"I agree," Yo said, nodding and sitting beside Izayoi. "Seeing all those children smiling really lifted my heart a bit."
"But it's a shame that you couldn't keep that hammer, Izayoi-kun." Asuka directed her attention to Izayoi, who had been silent throughout the rest of the trip. "Are you regretting about not taking it with you?"
"…Izayoi-kun?" Yo tilted her head to one side, puzzlingly. "What's wrong?"
"I was wondering if I did the right thing," Izayoi unexpectedly said in a sorrowful voice.
"Of course, you did!" Kurousagi beamed at him. "Helping people is the right thing to do!"
"No, that's not what I was talking about. Right after I finished off Veles, the hammer cracked."
"Huh? What?" Kurousagi couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Is that why you were so careful with it at the end?" Asuka remembered how gentle Izayoi had laid it on the ground. "So it wouldn't fall apart?"
"Was it a replica then?" Yo asked, starting to see where this was going.
"No, it was the real deal. But using all of its power might've weakened its defense, and my Gift must've shattered it. So in other words, my Gift destroyed a Holy Weapon."
For a moment, the three Problem Children stared at one another, unable to say anything. Kurousagi, on the other hand, was fuming with quiet anger, about to explode.
"OK, let's pack up before they catch up to us!" Asuka shouted. "Dean! Barricade!"
"I need to finish this sandwich first though," Yo said while stuffing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into her mouth. The calico cat did the same.
"Oh, well, it can't be helped! Let's hit the road then!" Izayoi declared happily.
"Y-Y-Y-You Problem Children are such splitting hairs!" Kurousagi released her pent-up anger in a blood-curding scream that echoed for miles.
Shortly afterwards, an avalanche appeared.
The End