[warning: Terribly Made]
"Uhm... Satoru. Are you sure about this?" King, in all his honesty, was a strong man. Hailed as the strongest of all, a hero amongst heroes, truly a man of legend, yet... he was uncertain of the feeling creeping up his neck.
The cold, slow impact-full emotion of distress, worry and dare he say it, fear.
The tall, sharply dressed man before him was making his worries sky rocket even further. He merely replied to King's concerns with a friendly chuckle and a voice of joy.
"Oh, come on, King. Nothing bad is gonna happen. Now... how do I do this now again?" The question, more directed at Satoru himself, was making King worry even more.The location wasn't also helping. They were situated in one of the association's public restrooms. Just standing in the hallway in front of the stalls.
The only thing they used to keep people out was a sign signifying the floor was wet. So many things could go wrong in this situation.
Even the events towards this point have already left him unease. First, there was the gigantic robot at the front gate that almost made him piss his pants. The white-haired woman with crazy in her eyes, that kept asking him if he saw God.
The weirdest thing about her was that she kept sniffing him like he was hiding something. Then, just when she eventually left, after being practically dragged away by another weird masked guy, Satoru had to reappear, acting like he didn't ditch him just a second ago.
Maybe that white-haired chick was his ex or something, but then why did she ask about God? Wait, why were so many people asking him about God anyway? Now he was even questioning if he knew God or not.
Not just that, but Satoru also hasn't told him a lot of himself. Like how that robot didn't detect he was a monster, or how they were called forth because Suzuki wasn't showing up on the camera feed.
All so many mysteries, yet no answers.
"Ah, there it is." Satoru exclaimed, breaking King away from his inner turmoil.
He saw that the masked skeleton made a break true in his little experiment. He has been waving his hands in a circle form repeatedly, but now it seems he finally made something more than just hand signs.
"What is that?" asked King, a bit afraid of the answer.
King was pointing toward the grey mist on Satoru's gloved hand. It was like an extra layer over his glove, moving as though his hand was on fire. The fire, in this case , is the dark mist.
"I'm not exactly sure what to call it yet. In all honesty, I didn't think it would have worked. Basically, a combination of different spe- uhm, abilities formed into one. Isn't it GREAT?"
From Satoru's voice, he could tell that this was something big for him, but... he didn't want to be an experiment dummy. He appreciated the help, but since this is a new thing, completely untested and potentially dangerous, he didn't want to find out if it was.
"You sure this isn't gonna kill me?" King asked, his voice wavering but his mind already absolute.
He has been trying to prepare himself for death in case his luck finally ran out, but now today may be the day. He best increased his chances of survival to their fullest."Just think of it as a game. This buff will only last until the time runs out. Nothing more Nothing less."
"Okay." King was prepared. He didn't know much of the skeleton, but after the hours of gaming, he at least knows Satoru isn't one for lying or killing needlessly. His gaming intuition was certain of it.
"Here it goes. [God's Gift]."
Boom* ...
"Oi, Silver Fang. Did you feel that just now?" asked Atomic Samurai, the gentleman across from him.
"Hm, must have been a small earthquake. It's just a small shake. Now, back to our topic..."
Silver Fang and Atomic Samurai return back to their conversation, ignoring the small tremor from earlier.
"Am I... alive?" King spoke in worry.He opened his eyes, expecting to see the pearly white gates, but instead was shown something a bit more grim.
"Uhm... Satoru. Was that supposed to happen?" He asked the skeleton before him.
Still, with his hands reaching out, the skeleton was standing in the bathroom with a, what he believed to be a surprised expression.
The small area around Satoru was completely scorched black, the tiles, and white paint were completely burned.
"Well, I guess that would be expected. An overlord Wiseman, even true all the enhancements, is still not the required level for something like that."
Satoru spoke in a calm and calculated tone, even though half his body was also black and burned. He slowly lowered his hands and stared at them for a moment. Contemplating his new discoveries. While Suzuki was contemplating, King was utterly lost on what to do.
He doesn't know what Satoru did, but he didn't feel all that much different than before.
"So... did it work?" asked King, his anxiety lowering from seeing that he was still alive.
"I think it did. I never tried something like that before. It's something newly acquired that I'm still figuring out. This demands further investigation."
From hearing the words 'further investigation', King decided to creep closer to the door. He would rather take his chances with the heroes for mercy than Satoru, who he knows lacks a bit of the "mercy" part.
"Oh yes, your meeting will be starting soon, so you need to go." Seems Satoru interpreted his escape in a different fashion, but whatever makes him get out of here was fine with him.
Satoru was busy writing his findings in this small book that appeared out of nowhere. While he was writing, King headed off to facing the next challenge of the day.
"Before you go. I first need to see if that spe-" Satoru stopped his words as he saw the man was already gone.
From the swinging of the door, he must have left just a second ago. Satoru quickly made his way to the door to find King and stop him. He still was unsure about the spell he casted. All he knew of the spell was from the mental flavor text within his mind was that the spell was equal to a blessing of some kind.
He was too embroiled within his excitement to finally test it out. He didn't think that the spell would have some type of level penalty. He actually felt dumb, as the entire time he was only using the spells available to the Overlord Wiseman body he inhabits.His true body was, of course, still stuck in that weird realm of non-existence. He could only use the tools he currently had. To know that his list of 700 spells was currently unavailable to him was depressing, but his old avatar was at least still functioning.
He just needed to wait for the avatar to recover fully so he may use it once more. The only bodies he has discovered to handle his power were few, there was his original avatar, the level 90 and above summons he had, but also the peculiar grey haired boy he found on that battlefield.
He doesn't know yet what determines compatibility, but so far, he can see that the vessel needs to be at a certain level. Or in this world, a certain amount of strength.
He wondered if he could make his own vessels true gifting power to others, but that was out of the equation when he realized the prize for gifting levels to others. The price to pay seemed to fit as it would drain his xp and gift it to them.
The amount was extremely little, but he didn't want to risk losing something he may not gain again. He was able to gain xp from 'God', but that was before his imprisonment within that new realm.
So far, the only new ability he saw that didn't use xp as a catalyst was the one he just used on King. It was more similar to a buff, keyword being similar as he still was trying to comprehend these new abilities without the help of a UI.
"How far could he have gone?" Satoru was now starting to worry. King, even though he just left moments ago, was nowhere to be seen. With an unpredictable ability still being attached to him, King was a ticking time bomb.
The ability can only be activated by the one it was coated on. It was similar to his red orb, as the longer it is stored within the user, the more strength it builds up as time goes by.
He didn't know what exactly does the spell buff, but he didn't wanna find out in a populated area like this.
He didn't want to make a scene, especially in a place full of 'heroes'. He didn't think the spell would have caused such a big impact, but it seems no one noticed the small blast. It was more concentrated on himself due to the level penalty.
"Wait, how did King even survive. He was standing right in front of me?"
Satoru was getting sidetracked once again. He needed to focus on finding King and figure out a way to deactivate that spell before it builds up too much power.
"Are you lost, Pall?" called a voice out to Satoru.
He wasn't expecting someone to talk to him with his presence concealment. It wasn't a strong spell as it didn't make him invisible, but at least close to it as long as the surrounding entities were below level 40.
For this man to recognize him, he must be above the average hero's strength.
"Sorry sir, but I'm merely just looking for a friend." Satoru said, trying to walk on.
The man infront of him seemed to only scrunch his eyebrows from Satoru's reply.
The mad had long black hair tied in a ponytail. His attire consists of a hooded red cloak with an atom symbol on the back draped over his open blue haori. Beneath the haori is a traditional loose-fitting white robe and katana at his side.
"I've never seen you around here before. Are you a new hero? With that mask of yours I'd doubt your an association staff."
"I'm neither actually, like I said. I'm merely here for a friend." Satoru was speaking in a neutral tone, but the man's constant questioning was getting in his way.
There could possibly be a ticking nuke walking within this building and this man was keeping him from deactivating it.
"I'm just gonna cut to the chase. Your hella sketchy and that mask of yours isn't helping. Can't put my finger on it, but your aura just screams bad news. Now mind introducing yourself before you go on your merry way."
Now, Satoru Suzuki needed to step back and let the guildmaster show his face. So far, the man has been nothing but rude to him, and for him to comment on his aura means that half of his disguise has already been exposed.
"It's only common courtesy to introduce one self before asking for another to do so. You have been so far nothing but, let's say, unpleasant towards me. I can understand my appearance isn't an everyday sight, but that isn't enough reason to warrant such behavior."
The Samurai was taken back from the sudden shift in behavior. The masked man's words were no longer humble and neutral, but on the border of being hostile. The other odd thing was that he was asking an S-class to introduce himself.
Either he was just playing dumb or he actually didn't know who he was talking to, but if he was strong. Then why would this masked individual need to hold back? The sudden shift in aura is akin to someone strong.
If a fight broke out, they were in the Heroes Association, so this guy wouldn't even get far.
"Are you picking fights with random people now, Atomic Samurai?"
The voice came from behind Atomic Samurai. He was a bit spooked that someone was able to creep up behind him, but after seeing who he was, he wasn't surprised."Bang, you're right on time. This guy here sai-" "Oh, it's you."
Atomic is cut off when Bang seemed to recognize the man in front of them.
"Huh?" Satoru tilted his head from the elderly man's behavior. He doesn't remember meeting him before, so how could he know him.
"You're the fellow that was with King, correct? I saw you walking with him on the second floor." Bang spoke to Satoru in a carefree manner.
Satoru wondered how this elder knew King, but considering King has work at this hero organization, they probably knew each other.
"Wait, King? Are you sure you saw right, Bang?" Atomic Samurai didn't seem convinced as he still held his hand on his blade.
For him, it was a bit weird to believe King would converse with someone with an aura of death and decay.
"You should calm down. This fellow seems to be a friend of King by how good they were talking with one another. Whatever they were talking about seemed like a serious conversation." Said Bang, the serious conversation in this context being Satoru and King's discussion on the best games to play.
In Satoru's case, he views the conversation as something vital. King was a person who was knowledgeable about almost everything game. Their talks would sometimes cross over into a realm beyond just games but also Manga and other great arts.
Without King, he wouldn't have truly realized just HOW much this world was different from his own. The disparity of the gaming and anime communities between their worlds was- cough cough.
He was getting sidetracked again. For some reason, that has been happening more often lately. Something to investigate.
"It has been a great chat with you, gentlemen, but I have places to be so..." Satoru turned around to leave the two men and get back on track. Before he could leave, a firm hand gripped his shoulder.
Looking back, he saw it was the elderly man holding him with a welcoming smile.
"Oh, come now. There's no need to leave so early. We're fellow coworkers of King, so I think we should get to know each other a bit more. Why not enjoy a hotpot? The third floor has a great restaurant we can go to."
Bang was speaking with a smile of an elderly grandpa while his grip was that of a sumo wrestler. He wasn't taking no for an answer.
"Hey, King! Over here." The little fan boy, Child Emperor, screamed towards his hero. Child Emperor got the notification for an emergency meeting just a while ago. He assumed King was here for it to.
"The meetings gonna take place here. The others haven't arrived yet, so we're still waiting."
King only nodded to Emperor's words as he passed by. For some reason, King's aura seemed different. He was still serious and quiet, but something about him seemed... off.
"Did someone say King?" From the other side, the other hero looked towards the door for the fabled hero, King.
"Tatsumaki. King just arrived, but I don't see any of the others yet." Child Emperor said as he went to take his seat.
The tornado of terror just floated off to the side as she stared daggers into King.
The room was filled by only silence and the faint rumbling of the King engine. King was a bit unnerved by the silence. He decided to at least try making small talk to the small hero next to him.
"I thought this meeting would only consist of three selected heroes. Who are the rest that would be coming?"
Child Emperor perked up from King's question. He happily turned to him to explain the current dilemma the association had.
"Well, originally, the meeting should've only consisted of Tatsumaki, King, and Flashy Flash, but... uhm, there was a slight dilemma which called for an emergency meeting."
"What was this, dilemma."
"Uhm... w-well.." Child Emperor hesitated before answering. The only answer King got was a scoff from Tatsumaki.
"Hmp... It's all just hocus they are blabbering about." Commented Tornado. "Like Blast would actually show. Hmp! Don't make me laugh." her words all though, seemed scornful, was, in fact, more contained than her usual outbursts.
"Wait, Blast?" King's heart almost gave out from her words.To have Blast actually attend a meeting. That was a bit hard to believe.
Child Emperor only added more fuel to King's worries with his next words."I heard that you met him on the battlefield. He must be interested in you, King, if you're also attending."
"Well, it seems Blast at least can distinguish between the strong and the weak." said Tatsumaki, a bit of pride in her voice.
To Child Emperor, he saw it as Tatsumaki actually complementing King, which her complementing anyone was already hard to believe. All tough to King himself, he felt this was her way of telling him that Blast has seen true his facade.
The King engine started once more its silent rhythm. His decision to keep quiet seemed to perturb the Esper even more. King could notice that she seemed more pissed off than usual.He wondered if he did something to upset her, but she has been acting this way since he walked in.
"King..."
The sudden call of his name almost made him jump out of his skin. He slowly looked up and almost fell unconscious of the sight before him. Just a few inches away was the scornful face of Tatsumaki. Her eyes looked at him as though he was less than a worm.
She always looked at others in the same manner, but with the current place and events, he just felt like this was truly it. The moment she finally puts him into the ground.
"Thank you... for handling those monsters back then. I mean, I could've handled it with ease if I-" The following words of Tatsumaki fall on deaf ears as King's mind went blank.
All he could remember was the 'Thank you'. The meek voice of the Rank 2 was a bit unsettling. To be Thanked by not just any hero but the most prideful of the bunch.
He could hear Tatsumaki was back to her proud tone as she tried to justify why she couldn't 'handel' the situation. Completely overshadowing the gratitude with her prideful reasoning.
The situation in question must have been the biggest misunderstanding in his life. The way he defeated several dragon level threats with one attack. Now that he thinks about it, he technically also protected Tatsumaki from the hero Hunter after the battle.
And unlike the former, she was actually there and saw how he battled with Garou.
"There's no need for thanking me. I was merely... doing my job..." The words were killing him. To once again just lie true his teeth.
"Hmp... well, I already did, so just accept it... or else." For some odd reason... he felt... okay. Even ignoring the threat at the end, the feeling of being thanked for something was... comforting."Also..." Tatsumaki began as she returned back to her seat, but her eyes glowed green at her next words. "Know anyone by the name, uhm... what was it again? Ainz... Ooal Gown?"
"... Huh!?"
"So... you finally came... Tsukuyomi"
The weak voice of the woman was silent and hurt. Just uttering a breath was a challenge. Her condition was way worse in her current situation. Several feet off from the ground, she was strung up by black inky tentacles true her limps. Even though it seemed painful, she barely flinched when it sank deeper in her flesh.
Her blood was dripping on the white floor within her glass prison. Her captor merely just grinned at her suffering. The entity before her looked and seemed like a human, but her senses told her she was far from it.
"Come now, Mis Psykos. Your friends in Tsukuyomi told me you were this big bad monster. Where's all that strength now?" The bitch of a woman before her was talking all high and mighty. Psykos was in to much of a terrible state to resist. Even when her captor somehow healed her, she couldn't do much.
She only healed her mental state to prepare her for an interrogation. From the well-dressed men behind her, she would probably be shipped off back to Tsukuyomi when this crazy woman was done.
"Alright... huff... I'll... I'll talk. W-what the hell do you want?" Not seeing any way out, she might as well just give them what they came for.
If she knew this woman's goal, then she may be able to use it to her advantage. She doesn't know who her current torturer is, but she'll rather endure physical pain than the mental kind.
Tsukuyomi is a place no Esper would want to be at. The mental torture was unyielding and inhuman. She'll rather take her chances against a possible hell than a predetermined one.
"Hmmm..." The torturer first hummed in pleasure as she thought over Psykos' words.
"I like you. You know your place, unlike these other scum in this world. Here's my question. Have you ever met God?"
.
.
.
The place was first filled with silence as her words were spoken. Psykos didn't know how to answer as she could feel the drastic shift in the room. When those words were ushered, she could feel a somewhat familiar presence leaking into the underground prison.
The feeling was akin to something only described as unholy. For that thing's presence to peak into this room felt as if time itself held its breath, awaiting for it to pass by the poor souls who were but mere ants under its feet.
.
.
.
In this silence, another familiar voice rang out. Calling towards them in a somewhat strong tone.
"And who might be asking?"
Looking over, Psykos saw someone she wasn't expecting to show at a time like this.
"Fubuki?"
"I must say, I don't like you Mr. Satoru, but... if you bring more of that sweet Saki, then I might change my mind. Isn't that right, Silver Fang?"
"Yes. Can't enjoy Saki without some nice cooked beef. But... I suggest you watch where you're reaching Atomic Samurai. You almost took my beef right out my chopsticks."
"I barely noticed."
The two pierced silent daggers into one another by their words alone. Seemed one drinking the others Saki and the other almost eating the others beef, must have almost warranted a death match.
The hotpot was a total disaster at first as Satoru didn't have a way to eat, but it seems he didn't need to by how fast the food disappeared. What was supposed to be a hot pot only turned into a battle of Saki and beef.
"Oh, look, we're already here."
The two heroes stopped before the giant Iron door, seeming to have reached their destination.
"I believe King must have already arrived. He is probably inside waiting for you." spoke the elder.
Even though he had grey hair, Satoru could tell that he was still a great combatant. The elderly man was able to keep up with Atomic Samurai in their battle for food. He didn't just out speed Atomic Samurai in his hand movement, but all of it flowed like water as he moved into his opponents blind spots.
"I won't be intruding too much. I will merel-" BOOM!
Suzuki is interrupted as they hear the booming sound from the other side. The explosion must have been great as the giant metal door was bent outwards, leaving a small opening.
The three of them blitz to the door as they look inside. Atomic Samurai readies his blade while Silver Fang steps forward, prepared to meet anyone in hand-to-hand combat.
True the dust cloud, Suzuki could see the origin of it. Identifying the origin of this explosion, they go quiet.
Within the center, he couldn't believe it.
The first thing he noticed was a child off to the side, with a very small backpack housing gigantic robotic arms. The boy seems a bit injured and spook, with a look of betrayal but also distress.
Right next to the boy was a very obvious hole leading to the bottom floors, possibly towards the basement level of this building.
At the center of the room was the true shocker. Three men stood within a small crater in the middle of the room. Possibly caused by the blast.
One of the men had long blonde hair and silver sparkling clothes. He held a silver blade pointed towards the man in front of him. Almost standing face to face, he had the thin pointed blade towards the others' heart.
Even with the blade looking stronger than steel, Suzuki could see the tip of it was melted as if it hit something as hot as the sun.
The silver dressed man had a look of uncertainty, but the one next to him only held a grin.
The other had his fist directly landed on his opponent. His fist seemed to be coated within a dark substance as it tried to reach its target, failing as it seemed to have been stopped by the third. The Superhero dressed man was someone Suzuki was familiar with.He still had the same white cape and the same style glasses. He was exactly as Suzuki remembered him from the moon.
It was the third who shocked him. The man who stopped not just the silver blade but was also holding the wrist of a literal superhero. The drumming rhythm of his heartbeat signified his identity.
The three scars held blue eyes that stared pure daggers into his opponents. To stop two S-classes simultaneously without even breaking a sweat. The loud beating of an engine and the cold eyes of a killer.
"HAHAA" Blast laughed at the situation. The pain in his wrist and the heat he felt radiating from King was real.
"You really are worthy of your title. Now come on. SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT, KING!"
.
.
.
[Author-san: Yes, I know. You're probably wondering, What happened? Who this? What this? When this? Well to bad cuz yall have to wait for next chapter to find out. For now, just go with it. Not the best chapter but just go with it.]