A/N: Yo. Apologies for the long delay. I got really busy with starting college. I'm back now and I will do my best to upload on a timely basis.

Afnan-Kun: Thanks for the review. I'll try not to let you down!

Guest: How about I do anyway. But really, if you don't mind me asking, why are you so opposed to me continuing this? If you do see this, I'd like to know. I'm sure you know who you are.

A Shitty Writer: I don't want to give any spoilers so the only thing I can say is to stick around and find out.

nirmtheworm14: Glad you like it! I'm trying to make it so that the first few chapters can give you a good idea of the MC's personality. I'm honestly more worried about getting the main cast's personalities right, though obviously, they will be at least a little OOC due to the direction I'm planning on taking this story.

Without further ado, the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

Hikigaya's POV

Darkness.

It surrounded me, enveloping me in its warm embrace. It feels nice, but I know that I can't stay here. I have things I need to take care of. So I reluctantly open my eyes, dispelling the darkness that held me down. I was laying in my bed. Getting up, I went to prepare for the day ahead.

Coming down the stairs, I see Komachi awake and watching the news. Normally she'd be watching anime or something, but with everything that's been happening as of late, it's good to be aware of what's going on.

"Morning Komachi, anything interesti-...," I say to my younger sister before freezing as I see what's being shown on the TV. Bodies were being bagged up. The buildings were covered in ice. Ashes were blown up with the breeze. It was the street from last night. Suddenly I remembered.

-Flashback-

The air was hot as the buildings around us burned. The ash and smoke made it hard to breathe. The sight of the bodies, with their guts and blood staining the streets, made me want to puke. This is what they did everywhere they went. They brutally killed everyone in sight and set buildings ablaze. Just like in that one isekai anime I saw a while back, these monsters called themselves the Witch's Cult. Fortunately, at the same time these freaks rose, so too did a hero. The Demon Hunter. Unfortunately, it wasn't like he could be everywhere at once.

...But, he was here now, and that's what mattered. He'd stop them here before they could reach the residential area and kill even more people, my precious imouto included.

"Why do you fight us? You who has also received Her Love?" the cultist in the center asks. I assume he's this group's leader. When I said that they were just like the Witch's Cult from that anime, I really meant it. They even seem to have similar abilities.

The Hunter did not answer. Instead, he decided that he did not need his sword, so it faded away. Then he quickly brought his arms up, pointing his fingers toward the cult members. In that very instant, bolts of lightning shot out from his arms and struck every one of the cultists except for the leader, killing them instantly. The leader simply looked at his fallen allies before looking back at the Hunter with a face full of nothing but hatred.

"YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF HER LOVE! YOU MUST PAY FOR THE SINS YOU HA-..." he abruptly stopped. A cleanly cut hole had appeared on his forehead. I could see all the way through it to the opposite end of the street. He crumpled down to the ground, dead. I couldn't hold it in after that and my lunch contents were spilled onto the street.

The Hunter looked at the dead bodies, the victims of the cultists, and despite the roaring flames, sighed loud enough for me to hear him. He then spread his arms wide, releasing a cold wind and freezing the flames surrounding us. The flames were literally frozen in place. And then he turned and looked right at... me. He stepped in my direction.

Consumed by fear, I quickly hopped on my bike and raced home, hoping that he wouldn't follow.

-End Flashback-

"Onii-chan?"

I was sweating. I had hoped that it was nothing more than a dream. Or a horrible nightmare. But it wasn't. The Cult was here, in Chiba. Innocent people had died last night. More will die. What i-

"ONII-CHAN!"

"Huh?! Wh-What is it, Komachi?"

"Jeez, you came in asking if anything was interesting on but I turn to find you deep in your own head. Useless Gomi-chan."

"O-oh, right. Sorry, I just couldn't help but remember something when I saw what you were watching," I say as I look at my watch. "We should get going to school now."

Komachi looked at me with a worried expression for a while before finally answering.

"...Ok."

Nino's POV

Classes have finally ended for the day and it's time to head to the club. Obviously. Since Hachiman is already here with me, we might as well go together. Besides, Sensei is trusting me to keep an eye on him. Jeez, does she really like him that much that she needs someone to keep him safe for her? Well, whatever. It's not my place to judge them.

"Yo, Hachiman," I say as I reach his desk, the both of us ignoring the looks our classmates were giving us. Tch, I get that it seems strange for either of us to willingly interact with others, let alone call each other by our first names, but mind your own damn business, will ya?! Anyway, back to Hachiman. He has a bored look on his face, not dissimilar to me... And that other guy I once knew. "Let's go to the club. I'm sure Yukino is waiting for us by now."

"Ah, right."

And with that, we left the classroom. We were silent the whole way, something that I did not have a problem with at all. I tend to enjoy having a quiet environment around me, especially after everything that I've been through lately. I started thinking back on everything that has happened since I'd arrived at Chiba. Despite my attempts to live a fairly quiet and peaceful life, it would seem that fate had other plans. Strange things were going on here, and since there was no way to just ignore it all, I decided I would try and get to the bottom of it all.

"We're here," Hachiman's voice interrupts my thoughts. Indeed, we have finally reached the clubroom, where I can sense that someone, probably Yukino, is sitting and reading one of her books. Giving Hachiman a nod, we enter the room.

"Good afternoon," I say as I take my seat. Hachiman does the same.

"Yo."

"Good afternoon, An- Nino, Hikigaya-kun. Would it kill you to give a proper greeting?" Yukino asks while giving Hachiman a cold look. He simply shrugged as he continued reading a light novel he had brought with him. "On a more important note, I'm sure you two have seen the news, yes?"

"No," I respond. "I don't really watch the news, but I am quite aware of what happened."

"..." Hachiman remained silent.

"Hikigaya-kun?"

"I was there."

Our eyes widened in shock upon hearing those words. Yukino asked, "W-what?"

"Last night. I was there. I saw them, the Cultists." Hachiman hesitated before he continued, "...A-and I saw him... the Demon Hunter."

...

The room was quiet for a few moments. That is until I decided to break the silence.

"What was he like?"

"...Terrifying. I don't know how long he had already been there when I had arrived, but he killed an entire group of Cultists in the blink of an eye without even trying... But then again it wasn't like they were actually trying to fight him. They made the mistake of standing around like idiots and making themselves easy targets. Regardless, seeing the Hunter shoot literal bolts of lightning out of his hands and then freeze the flames of the burning buildings in place showed me that he isn't one to be messed with. I got really scared when he started walking towards me so I just biked home as fast as I could and went to sleep."

"I see." I couldn't lie, hearing that the mythical Demon Hunter seemingly had the power to completely wipe out his enemies so easily had me impressed. "If what you say about his power is true, then one would have to wonder just how bad this Cultist threat really is."

"Especially if he decided to come here himself to deal with them."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Yukino asked Hachiman in confusion. "You make it sound as though he's some alien from space."

"Not from space, but another reality," he says, really catching both Yukino's and I's attention. "Witness reports have claimed to have spotted both Cultists and the Hunter coming out of what looked like portals, or dimensional rifts. I mean think about it; magic was nothing more than fantasy and myth until recently when these guys started attacking our world. Clearly magic, and they as well, are not a natural part of our world."

Yukino then asked, "Ok, but what did you mean about the Hunter sending someone else in his place?"

"Maybe I'm just reading into it too much, but I'd think that someone as powerful as him would be facing stronger, more threatening opponents, not a bunch of religious fanatics. And if he does come from another reality, it could explain why they call him the Demon Hunter; Demons might exist in his world and he is the one who deals with them. In other words, he should have someone else, an army even, that is equipped to deal with these Cultists."

"Unless these Demons are actually here as well and just haven't done anything to draw attention to themselves yet," Yukino theorized.

"And if he did have an army, maybe they are in other worlds?" Hachiman added. "I'd assume there are infinite realities, and it's not like an army, even if it were very large, could be everywhere at once."

"Exactly. Not only would an army be preoccupied in other worlds, but it's not like this Hunter can be everywhere at once either." I say with a grim tone. "It is painfully obvious that this other-worldly evil is a much bigger threat than we've given them credit for."

"In that case," Yukino says, "we can only hope that this Hunter can hold them off until he gets some reinforcements or the Cultists and Demons give up on our world entirely."

*knock knock*

Hachiman was about to say something else but was interrupted when someone knocked on the club room's door.

"Come in," Yukino called out, prompting a girl with familiar pink hair to open the door and start entering.

"E-excuse me... Um... Hiratsuka-sensei told me to come here... W-why are you here, Hikki?! And Nino too? This is where you guys went?"

I snorted when I heard her nickname for Hachiman. Hikki? Like hickey? I know he saved your dog last year, and it's obvious that you like him, but that's a bit much, eh? Anyway, this girl's name is Yui Yuigahama. Hachiman and my classmate as well as a member of the popular clique.

"Is something funny, Nino?" Yukino asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Nah, just something really stupid."

"Right. Yuigahama-san, yes? What is it you would like to request of us?"

We were now in the home economics room with the objective of helping our pink-haired acquaintance make cookies for someone. Honestly, when considering everything else going on right now in the world, this was a really stupid thing to be spending our time on. But I suppose it did help to keep our minds off of such gruesome topics. Anyway, back to the task at hand. Yukino and I, who had experience baking, were helping Yui to no avail since she somehow always managed to create something that resembled charcoal. Perhaps she was cursed? I wonder if the Cult curses people just for shits and giggles? Nah.

"Ok, this isn't working," Hachiman said in an exasperated tone. "Here, you all go out real quick. I'm going to show you all how real cookies are made!"

...

Uh...

"It was a mistake to trust you with this, Hikigaya," Yukino said while shaking her head.

"Guess I'll just throw these out then. Sorry for wasting your time."

So Hachiman's just as bad as Yui's, huh? That's really sad... Wait. Hold on a sec. Could it be?

"W-wait Hikki! I-"

"Those are Yui's cookies, aren't they, Hachiman?" I said in a way that left no room for denial. "You never made any cookies, did you?"

Everyone looked at me with surprise before the two girls looked at Hachiman. His eyes shifted to each of us for a second before he lamely nodded his head.

"Hikigaya..." Yukino looked at Hachiman with a look that said 'I can't believe you'd actually do something this low.'

"Hikki, why?"

"I was trying to teach you a lesson. When you believed that I made the cookies, you were about to stop me from throwing them away even if they came out horrible because I still put effort into them, right?" Yui nodded to this. Hachiman continued, "What I'm trying to say is that guys are simple creatures. Even if they do taste like shit, they'll still be moved nonetheless by the fact that you put work into them."

"Is that how it works?" I heard Yukino ask herself. Does she also have someone on her mind?

"Wou-would that move you, Hikki?" Yui asked.

Hachiman blushed. "I, uh, yeah it would."

Yui turned to me. Fuck. "What about you Nino?"

"Eh, sure I guess," I said while keeping a completely neutral face. I wasn't exactly a big fan of these kinds of things. Luckily the girl accepted my answer.

"Right. I'll keep working on it on my own from now on. Thank you all! Bye!" She said as she picked up her stuff and left, leaving us to clean up her mess.

"Hikigaya-kun," Yukino looked at Hachiman and asked, "are you satisfied with this result?"

"Well, she seemed happy with it so.. sure I guess."

"I agree. As much as I hate to admit it, neither you nor I were getting anywhere with Yui. Hachiman did things his way and she accepted it as the answer to her problem." I couldn't help but laugh a bit as my next words came out, "Hehe, looks like Hikki takes the lead, eh?"

"Don't call me that," Hachiman snapped at me. I just laughed a bit more. Even Yukino smiled.

After we had cleaned up the mess in the home economics room, we went back to the clubroom to get our stuff and leave. Saying farewell to my clubmates, I went straight down to the school's gate. Immediately my mind went back to our conversation regarding last night. Hachiman's account of the Witch's Cult and the Demon Hunter. The idea that they could all be from a different world. But more than anything, what amazed me was how much the boy called Hikigaya Hachiman seemed to have figured out. A multiverse, demons, heroes. How much more did he know, I wondered.

*bzzt*

A notification from my phone caught my attention. Unlocking the screen and seeing what had been sent to me, my face grew dark. Last night ended up a horrible failure. This time I would make sure things were different. No more people would die to those monsters. I would not allow it. Because I...

...

Am a hero.