To UnconsciousFake: Yeah, they are. Though, I might have used the wrong word: I should have said 'involved citizens' instead of 'unfortunate citizens'. And thanks for the compliment.
To Akutzu Pentaghast: Yes, and that's the first Gate.
Enjoy chapter two everyone!
Location: West Coast Island. Main Square of the City
Time: 10:00. Date: August 20th, 20XX.
It's a mistake attacking this place. That's what he concluded after he watched what happened before his eyes.
When Colt woke up with a massive headache, the person from before set him down next to a pillar, with his hands tied up. He then used some sorts of magic that locked him in place, forcing him to not be able to stand up. If that's not enough, the person sent him a glare that clear told him 'don't move, or else'. Colt's being scared by a few things, and that has been added to the list.
Then, the ground grumbled below them, and Colt turned to his right to see a small army with some sorts of armored beasts rushing to their location. He immediately assumed that these were the back-up soldiers that just came to support the kids' group. Each soldier carries for themselves one strange staff and thin armor, and they travelled in small groups spreading out after seeing him and the person. To his surprise, the person started ordering to the soldiers with authority that he could compare it to the Emperor himself, since the soldiers complied immediately without questions… well, one question about him anyway, but the person just said to leave him for the moment, before he joined the native soldiers with him having one of those strange staffs provided from one of the soldiers.
From that point, his army started getting pushed back to the Gate by the soldiers and the group of 'kids', but the native soldiers only focused on the left-behind units, who was trying to run away or stand their ground to fight. In the end, those who were alive had their hands tied up and grouped in a large square, seemingly the center of the city. Of course, his men were still trying to break free, but with the assistance of the knight armors, this world's soldiers had no troubles keeping them in place.
While his men still insisted on fighting, he focused more on the 'kids' group. They looked at their captured with pitiful yet angry looks as the only male told them what Colt and he have talked during the fight. One of the soldiers then reported to them something, and the male thanked him and let him return to the group. He turned back to the girls and told them to check the battlefield again…
Colt and a few of his men saw it, with their own eyes, as some sorts of light emerged from the kids' bodies, engulfing them completely up… And when it disappeared, replacing the kids were five grown adults, with wings behind their backs and they were floating in the air like it was nothing at all. Especially the man, he was like a perfect combination of God and Demon, with each half in his appearance represented one aspect. Their features were nothing short of divinity, even more impressed compared to his world's God and Goddesses.
At this point, it's clear why there's only this 'small group' to stop them first. They were the powerhouse of this world, they could easily fight against armies without any supports, and most of all… they ARE this world's protectors. And he and his Empire just angered something they shouldn't have.
…
Location: East of WCI. Outside of the new prison
Time: 10:15. Date: August 20th, 20XX.
"Hey, haven't we talked about you overworking yourself?" Neptune asks with her eyes half-closed. "Seriously, there is NOTHING of this that could count you as a human anymore."
"That, or days of having those prisoners screaming next to you." Kuro replies without looking at her, instead he focuses on the captured soldiers who are being led to where they will stay, for now.
After the CPUs have returned and confirmed of the clearance, he excused himself and teleported to the location the Mayor has given him permission to use. The workers there were a little surprised a bit at his presence, and once they heard why he's here, they immediately packed their things and returned to the main city without hesitation. When they're gone, Kuro combined his and SKYNET power to replicate Assassin's Creed Animus' Synchronization Animation to create a new prison on the empty ground in A SECOND. After that, he then teleported literally everyone in the Main Square right in front of the new building, then ordered the soldiers to get the captured into the place.
Blanc sighs and asks: "Is this going to be another sleepless period of yours?"
"…Could be." Kuro replies.
"That means 'It's obvious', right Father?"
"…You know me." Turning his head, Kuro faces the person who just asked him. He is a 30-ish-year-old man, with brown hair that runs to slightly pass the shoulders. He has green eyes, but his left pupil sometimes flashes up a tint of black. His skin is a little pale, but not to the point of too white. He wears an oversized blue coat with white shirt, brown jeans and blue boots. Hanging on his right shoulder is a Barrett M99. "How did you find out what happened, Schwarz? I haven't announced anything…"
"SKYNET beat you to that. Right now, all nations, including Ultra and Zero Dimension, are on high alert and scanning for any abnormally distortions of space." He then points towards a person who's planning to climb on Kuro's back. "And you forgot that she's basically you?"
"Hm?" That's all he could say before he feels something jumping on him, and he turns his head back to see a mini version of Kurome smiling at him. "Hey, Clem. Guess I can't hide anything from you, huh?"
"Nope!" The girl giggles.
"Now now, dear. He's having a rouge time here." Uzume picks the little girl up and off his back, earning another giggle from her. "Hey, Kuro. Do you know where they're from? Which anime, or manga, or…"
"No idea." The fifth CPU shakes his head. "I have no knowledge of this 'Saderan' world. While I could guess that they're somewhat similar to Earth's Roman era, that's all I could tell. Though, with the appearance of Wyverns, we could compare it to Halkeginia's Germania, in a sense."
"Are you going to ask them to help you dealing with this?" Another 30-ish woman teleports next to Schwarz and asks Kuro. She has short white hair, light skin like Schwarz, pink eyes with right pupil flashing black sometimes. She wears a pink dress under a white jacket and pink shoes. She has a rapier strapped on the left of the waist. "Sorry for asking that, Father, but…"
"I understand." Kuro nods. "But, while what you think is one of the reasons, Halkeginia isn't involved in this. This is Gamindustri's problem, not theirs."
"Well, if you think so. But…" Noire then points out one thing: "Are you certain that we shouldn't just counterattack? I mean, they just basically came in and blasted everything up."
"Yes. I told you, right? I can't kill their leader even when I'm willing to, due to Fate. You saw it yourself too."
"What will be your next move?" Vert decides to ask the final question.
"…I need you all to observe the portal, and be aware of anything abnormal. Meanwhile…"
Location: New prison.
Time: 14:00. Date: August 20th, 20XX.
"Hey, wake up. Sir Kuro wants to meet you."
Turning his head to his cell's exit, Colt sees one of the guards calling for him from the other side, before the door's unlocked and opened for him to go out. Knowing his position now as a prisoner, he has no choices but to comply to the order, as he leaves his bed and heads out. The guard instructs him to the destination he needs to go, then returns to his post. Normally it would be the case where he should try to escape, but Colt has seen what happened to the others when they tried: a Thunder spell that knocked them out immediately. Not wanting to deal with it, he just makes his way to where this 'sir Kuro' is.
When he reaches the door of the room, he sees two guards standing there, one of them then opens the door and tells him to come in. He does so, and sees what's inside the room: a table in the middle with two chairs, one of which having the person he fought before sitting on, the table itself has a cup on the table, the only window where the sun could shine through to light up the room. The person raises his right hand up and gestures Colt to sit on the other chair. The noble slowly walks to it with cautious eyes before sitting down, his eyes focusing on the other person.
When he's properly sat down, he sees water inside of the cup. The person before him pushes the cup to him, indicating that he wants Colt to drink it. The noble glares back at him, not trusting it. Though, while he's expecting the person to force him to drink it, the person just leans back on the chair with his hands on his legs, showing no angers at all.
"I understand that you're cautious." The person then speaks first. "If I'm in your position, my reaction would be like yours." The person then puts his arms on the table and leans forward a bit before continuing: "I believe we should introduce ourselves to each other. As you might have heard from my guards, my name is Kuro. What's yours?"
'This must be a trick to try and make me talk.' Colt thinks, so he doesn't reply.
"…Hm. I guess you're a leader for a reason. Other prisoners would just shout to my face and order me to release them." Kuro nods to himself. "Thankfully, I managed to pick something from when they insulted me. You serve Saderan Empire, correct?"
'…I will have a word with those men when I have the chance.' Colt curses inward, then nods to the question.
"And this attack was to 'conquer the new land and dominate it', right?" Another nod. "*Sigh* Is this Empire of yours stupid or something? Attacking somewhere without any knowledge about it…"
"We have done this many times. This is no differences." Colt accidentally speaks up, then closes his mouth immediately.
"…Did you succeed? All the times, I mean." Kuro asks. Seeing no reactions, he assumes it to be correct. "…How many years has this, Empire, done this?"
"…Six hundred years." Seeing no harms in telling it, Colt answers. "Could be more before the Empire we know."
"…I see." Kuro sighs again. "Do you know why I called you here?" He earns a headshake. "Before I called you, I told the guards to pick some of the aggressive prisoners to see their reactions. It seemed that they blindly see the Empire as… well, you can tell, since you're from there." He earns a nod this time. "Remember when I tried to 'kill' you? I couldn't do so, even when I was willing to do so back then. You saw it right, the blade went through your heart, and yet, no damage. Do you want to know why?"
'…Why is he telling me this?' Colt is very confused. But, it doesn't that he's not curious about it, so he nods.
"Because, there's a possibility that you are the key for something greater for the future. Having lived long enough, I know that I have to keep you alive, from my people, and even from yours."
That drops the whole room in silence. Colt looks down at his tied hands and his mind starts wandering around the information he just gained. Meanwhile, Kuro decides to let the man think for a moment before continuing by staying silent.
Then, Colt speaks up: "What do you want?"
Seeing that the noble sees something in his questions, Kuro answers: "Nothing much."
"Vague answers like that won't get you anywhere." Colt replies, being more confident this time.
"I want nothing harmful to be done on the people there." Kuro reveals. "I want the ones controlling the Empire to realize what they have done are putting their people at harm. While I understand human's desire for expansion, I do not condone their willingness to abandon their people. You understand that, right? You followed their orders to keep your family and the people under your direct protection. While it's selfish and ignorance in the eyes of the people you killed and captured, it's an act of a true noble. And that's why…" He then stops himself from ranting further. "Sorry for that. I tend to speak nonstop when I'm not aware of what I'm saying."
Despite being in an interrogation, Colt couldn't tell if it's really one, given by his 'interrogator' being this young and… seemingly easy to be distracted in his own speech. Though he decides to not say a word, because he has witnessed what he could do.
"Anyway…" Kuro coughs once before continuing: "Like I said, we will not harm your civilians. I am also planning to return you back as well… with a few conditions."
'Obviously.' Colt sarcastically says in his mind.
Though, seeing the other's expression, Kuro decides not to talk about it yet. "Hm… we can't really talk about that since you're not trusting me yet. I will return tomorrow, please behave in here and don't make me regret letting you live."
Colt sees Kuro standing up after that and heads to the exit, just in time for the guards from outside to open the door and salute the moment they see him walking through them with a nod. They then call him out and tell him to return back to the cell, and Colt does so while not trying to do anything that could gain him trouble.
Returning back to his cell, the guard from before notices him and opens the door for him to go him. Though, when he's inside, the guard talks to him: "Hey, you're lucky that sir Kuro is not going on a rampage on you all. You just picked the worst day to attack us."
"…Why do you tell me that?" Colt has a little doubt…
"Hey, this prison is built just AFTER you attacked us. We didn't even expect him to do so, and less so when he literally told us to 'not try to harm you'. If he's out of his mind, this prison's walls would be splatted with your blood."
Colt shivers. "…We're lucky, then."
"If you know your place, maybe you can return to your home. But now, you're our prisoner, so please behave."
'Again with that formality. They're the winners here, and yet…' Colt thinks to himself, before seeing the door closing before his eyes. Through the hole of the door, he could see the other prisoners trying to break open the doors to escape, while the guards just watch in boredom. '…Are they trying to trick us? Or is there something else?'
Location: Hyperdimension. Research Land. Main tower. Meeting room
Time: 15:00. Date: August 20th, 20XX.
"Saderan Empire?" Neptune asks first. "That sounds so much like Germania."
"Seems like Hitler-style country or nation always has the 'Empire' in their names. And no, not every of them is Germany." He says the second sentence to you readers.
After gaining some info from the prisoners, Kuro has called out a meeting with the available CPUs in Hyperdimension, and now they're discussing about it.
"It's going to be war, Kuro." Noire speaks her point of view. "If this keeps up, this Empire would just send everything here, and lose themselves in their own pride."
"I'm aware of it. However, both sides live in different era, us being more advanced than them. There's no reasons to respond to their attacks by our own. Also, this is the leaders' fault, not the people. If I could just find him and deal with him…"
"Like when you did in Halkeginia." That earns Blanc a nod. "There's nothing to change that thought of yours, so I won't suggest about it. However, I'm interested in another matter…"
"It's about the portal that leads us to this world…" Vert continues. "And another Gate, as the natives called it, stationed on another hill near us. Should we try to contact whoever behind that one?"
"…No." Kuro declines. "Not yet, to be exact. Right now, I don't want to put my hands in this Empire's matters. However, if the remaining force try to attack again, then it's going to be a different story."
"How about we just send some scouts through the portal first…"
"In the middle of a fight? Not a chance Neptune." His phone suddenly rings up, causing him to raise his finger up to stop them from talking so he could answer the call. "Sorry everyone. Who is…"
"I heard that Gamindustri is attacked. Is everyone okay?" A woman's voice from the other end asks Kuro with a very worried tone.
Temporarily putting his phone down, he glares at the CPUs with a clear message 'did you tell her?' and all of them shake their heads. Sighing, he returns back to the call and answers with a reassuring voice: "It's okay, Charlotte. Everything is under control."
"…I'm glad." The woman sighs in relief. "If you need any helps, just call me okay?"
"I will, dear. I will call you back soon." Quickly turning his phone off, he then facepalms. "Did I give SKYNET permission to spread out the problems everywhere?"
"NEGATIVE. ONLY SENT TO YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS." The AI replies from his phone.
"Of course…" Kuro sighs again. "Anyway, are there any new portals so far?"
"None of the nations has found one. Even in Zero Dimension." Uzume summarizes. "However, according to SKYNET, some of the clones in the Clone Room are disabled."
"Disabled? What do you mean?"
"UNABLE TO DEPLOY. NOT ACCESSIBLE IN THE CURRENT TIME. BLOCKED BY HIM."
"Him… hm…"
"By the way…"
"No, nothing so far, Vert."
"So this is basically a blind shot."
"Somewhat, Blanc… Alright, everyone, keep your guard up. There's no telling when the next attack will happen, or if another portal opens within our vicinity."
Location: WCI, portal
Time: 11:00. Date: August 21st, 20XX.
"They brought it to themselves." Kuro says to himself, as he clears the blood on his blade with an air swipe before sheathing it while watching the fleeing enemies. "They just couldn't resist, could they?"
Just as everything being predicted, the second wave has come in the morning. And of course, they demanded his men to release the prisoners, so that 'the punishment will be lighter'. He has tried to tell them that he could return the prisoners only if the Empire leaves them alone, and they didn't like hearing that and… well, you can guess what happens next.
"Why can't they take the hints?" Rubbing his eyes with his left hand, Kuro irritatingly says to himself. "And I just want a relaxing day with my family after that…"
"You know that you could do it every day, and let the others do the work, right?"
"That's not the point here, T.O." Turning his head to the right, Kuro sees an identical version of himself wearing full black with a black cane in his right hand. "Have you found out anything about this 'Saderan'?"
"Unfortunately, other than 'stalking' the prisoners, I couldn't see anything on the other side of the Gate. I need to directly head there to find out more about it."
"Hm… do it. Be careful." T.O tips his fedora as his goodbye before he turns invisible and blends in the retreating soldiers.
These soldiers look even more pathetic when they run. All bark and no bite.
"Hey, in their era and nation, this is an impressive one, Kurome. Still no portals?"
None. It's like when I opened one, huh?
"Worse." He then looks down at one of the corpses before him, which is the King of Alguna's. "This one didn't survive against my blade… what made Colt be better than him? Let's find out…" Kneeling down, Kuro hovers his right hand over the face of the corpse before touching it…
…
Location: New prison. Interrogation room
Time: 21:00. Date: August 21st, 20XX.
"That's all I can tell you." Kuro has called Colt back to the room again after the prisoners' dinner is served, and told him of what he knew after reading King of Alguna's memories. "If the Empire keeps pushing you towards the Gates, you will only ending up dying."
"…Why do you care? We're your enemies."
"All lives matter. Yes, we're fighting for more living conditions, but in your case, you will end up wasting your resources. If there's any ways for both sides to improve and evolve, peace if possible, then we will gladly take it."
"…What do you suggest?" Colt himself is not a fan of killing either, so if there's a way to keep his people safe without fighting…
"Glad you're on it. First thing… though, since the Empire is still trying to invade, we would have to 'take care' of the area behind the gate."
"…So you're going to kill them…"
"Not quite. You have seen it, our blades sometimes can't kill. That's because our blades can only terminate ones who have fallen too deep into darkness, or evil if that's easier for you to understand. Or ones whose time is up, counting innocents as well. Of course, we do not just straight up killing them without any reasons, and even if that's the case, we would give them a painless way to go."
"…Then?" Colt now understands why they didn't hesitate to attack, because their actions can't be wrong at all. Even if they accidentally swing at the wrong people, their attacks won't deal any damage at all.
"One of my 'scouts' has already gone through the Gate, and he will try to find the second Gate and your city. Next… well, if things are smooth, maybe I will just let you return back."
"…That easy?" Okay, that's hard for him to believe.
"Well… in theory, at least." Kuro admits while scratching his head. "Sorry, sometimes I forgot about real life's problems."
Colt decides not to comment on that.
"Well, maybe, right now, we can have a 'cease-fire' treaty. What do you say?" Kuro then offers one of his plans. The God gives the noble a piece of papers with the details of the treaty he and the others have discussed so it would be fair for both sides.
Colt takes it and reads the contents… And he's totally at the benefits this side wants to gain. "Are… are you sure? This is way too little for…"
"Don't be so sure." Kuro chuckles. "While it seems little, the potentials in each term are immeasurable."
Reading the terms again, Colt could see why Kuro said so. But, even if it's a long run, it seems that Colt's side is gaining more benefits… but then, this world is way more advanced than his, so maybe they don't need too many thing from them.
Still… "If we accept this, how long would it be in effect?"
"Your choice." Surprised, again. "You have noticed that this isn't just for my side, right? These are nearly nothing to us, but we want to have a healthy relationship with you. To make it fair."
"…" Not even the Empire would give them a treaty THIS generous…
"I hope there's no more fighting." Kuro leans on his chair and looks at the ceiling. His face expresses how sad he is when he thinks of fighting against anyone who has a dream to fight for. "I won't force you to answer now, but… consider it."
And that's the end of the conversation, as Colt returns back to his cell with the paper in his hands. If these people are telling the truth, then he and his city could actually be able to not be too dependent on the Empire. But… if only when it's the truth…
Location: Near Alnus Hill
Time: 05:00. Date: September 2nd, 20XX.
"That's the Gate?" T.O turns to his left to see Kuro appear next to him. The two are on a nearby hill where they could see the Gate, and the advanced army stationing before it to defend the entrance. "Based on the outfit, looks like they're from normal military."
"Normal army, huh?" His left eye's curse flares up again, and it helps him zooming in the weapons these ones are possessing. He then sees some of the letters… and he chuckles. "Japanese, huh? Lots of things happened in that country…"
"Mangas are from there, you know." T.O replies, then turns to Saderan army which is miles away. "From what I found, they have fought for days. But… the main force of the Empire wasn't here, only the ones from the Vassals."
"…The Emperor knew that they would be defeated, right?" Kuro's grin disappears. "That would make the vassals not trusting him anymore."
"Look at the battlefield." T.O points to where corpses of various creatures are. "Do you believe the Vassals could fight back the Empire now even if they want to?"
"…Fair point." He then chuckles, which makes T.O look at him funny. "Just have something in my mind."
"And what could make you chuckle after that truth?"
"Well, isekai stuffs. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if we will meet our Main Character who would have a harem in the future*ACHOO!*."
…
At the same time, a certain soldier sneezes just when he wakes up, confused at what just made him do so.
…
"Are you talking about yourself?" T.O smirks behind his scarf as Kuro rubs his nose once.
"Hey, that happened in too many isekai stories, okay?" Kuro then changes the subject. "So, what's more?"
"You're right in thinking this world being Europe-alike. Also, I have found out that this world has actually Gods and Goddesses."
"Did you make any contacts with them?"
"Obviously not. However, there might be a chance that they have noticed my activities through their apostles here."
"Apostles, huh? Do they wear black-and-white outfit like…"
"No Jesus here." T.O immediately interrupts.
"Hey, let me have a little fantasy here."
Completely ignoring the pouty counter, T.O continues: "The problem is, these Apostles are immortal, in age. They're still able to be beaten up, but the only current force that could go toe-on-toe with them are themselves, and Elder Dragons."
"…This is not Skyrim, isn't it?"
"Do this world look like it? Though, that's all I could do. 'He' is stopping me from finding further to the East."
"That's enough. You should return to your girlfriend before she grows anxious."
"…Repeating jokes isn't funny. Kurome is not my girlfriend…did I just fall into your trick?" That's all T.O could ask before Kuro instantly laughs after his question as he flies back to Gamindustri. T.O shakes his head, before grinning and teleporting back to his pocket dimension.
…
"Two of them? Isn't that too problematic? Should I just kill them?"
'If you think you can, but I doubt it.'
"That's a bit rude, My Lady."
'We're dealing with two worlds here. Don't give yourself a reason to be forced out of this.'
"Fine. But, My Lady, are you certain that the second Gate is not your doing?"
'If it's the case, I wouldn't have ordered you to observe it this soon.'
Chapter 2 end!
With new people and ones who are out of the loop, Schwarz, Weiss and Clem are all my OCs, the first two are siblings and they're Kuro's children, and Clem is Uzume and Schwarz's daughter. Yes, I'm not joking.
Also, for you guys' knowledge: I'm called T.O, or The Observer. Whenever I'm not directly in the scene but still in conversation, this is how you identify me.
And it's like this, this is Kurome Ankokuboshi speaking.
I do have one form for myself, but it will be rare in this story.
No new references... wait, ALMOST forgot:
Charlotte, or known more as Tabitha, is from Familiar of Zero. And Kuro's third (yep, third) wife.
I think that's it for now. See you in the next chapters!