These last few days have been absolutely crazy. First the strange light, then the divine intervention, then the Blood-Soaked Oni, and from what I heard the Lightning Lord destroyed a third of that city. No, I guess I'd be more accurate to call him the Storm Lord, or... the Storm Emperor now.
Anyway, after all that happened in one night, the next morning the gods sent all priests and us heroes an oracle. Each god delivered the same message to their followers. The first thing they said was a prophecy the goddess of luck and fate had:
An empire with no future seeks to reawaken and conquer the stars. The daughter of calamities will become the catalyst to world destruction and to free those frozen in time. The minds of the travelers will join as one to forge this world anew. The flowers will bloom and the meadows will be free from its garden.
"An ancient threat seeks to rise. One that we gods have prevented for over ten thousand years. The Calamities. As of now, two beings are on the cusp of joining their ranks, the Blood-Soaked Oni, Onyx, and the Lightning Lord. In addition to these two threats, is this 'Daughter of Calamities' We don't know who she is or even if she is born yet but she is a threat to the world too as the previous calamities from the age of gods that we have sealed may be reawakened by her.
These three beings must be slain at all costs. A team of elite calamity slayers is to be summoned and trained by the former heroes. They are to be given the same conditions as all heroes are given
Most calamities are far stronger than the demon lord but there are a few weaker than it. The condition of becoming a calamity does not take strength into account. Calamities, although they can be slain, either so impractical or too costly, so it's better to seal or detain them. Calamities below a certain rank can be fully sealed. Those above it can only be detained in some areas. You know these places as dungeons"
The revelation that dungeons contain beings that were detained during the age of gods was more than most priests could handle. After all, a lot of cities and villages border these places and too many have entered them to never be seen again. Now we know why.
It was almost right after that oracle that I was summoned to the gods' palace, along with my other two remaining former heroes.
We appeared in the throne hall of the palace wherein seven enormous thrones sat in a semicircle. each throne pertained to the elements of the gods. In the middle sat Thyra. Her beautiful golden hair flowed seemingly endlessly like a silken river. Her robes are made of silver and white threads. her flawless fair skin glowed with an abundance of health. Her eyes are silver with a halo of gold at the edge of her irises. Her generous bosom and motherly hips gave her a mature aura, one that befits the first goddess.
Thyra's throne is non-elemental as Thyra is the only non-elemental deity. It is adorned with jewels to match it's gold and silver lining.
On Thyra's left sat Umbra and on her right sat umbra's twin, Luma. The second and third goddesses. Umbra's throne is made of pitch-black bone with skulls on the armrests while Luma's throne is a pure white living oak with branches growing out of the top to create a canopy of leaves.
Luma had long white hair reaching her midriff. Her eyes shone with a vibrant green. She appeared to be in her early twenties if she were human. Spread from her back were two large wings. She had an aura about her that gave off energy. At first impressions, Luma seemed a lot like a deredere.
Umbra had black hair with dark violet eyes. Her wings were also black but otherwise, she looks identical to Luma appearance-wise. She looked reserved and elegant, giving off a calming aura as if to cancel out her sister's aura. If Umbra gave an impression of a Dandere.
Next to Umbra sat Gnome upon a throne of masterfully worked Gemstone. Each gem flowed together perfectly; it was as if it was one whole piece. Metal of every type blended together when they intersected adorned the throne. weaving between the grooves of the gemstone highlighting each one and making them stand out.
Gnome was a dwarf and the shortest of the deities, although his godly nature made him tower over me. Gnome wore the leathers of a smith and didn't seem to mind the evidence of work. Gnome had a thick and majestic, long, brown beard that matched his stern brown eyes. He looked down at us with an inspecting start like he was inspecting a piece of his work. Gnome has a muscled frame that gave off an aura of strength and inspiration
Next to Luma sat Sylph upon a throne of white clouds. She wore a long green elegant dress that hugged her frame and accentuated her modest figure. As an elf her ears were long and her hair blond. Luckily I wouldn't have to guess her gender thanks to her noticeable bust. I was very disillusioned when the first female elf I met turned out to be... well, not female. Sylph kept her shoulder-length hair in a ponytail. She had an elegant beauty that gave off an aura of nobility.
Sitting next to Gnome upon a throne of fire is Salamander. He is a Wolfkin with large wolf-like ears at the top of his head. his groomed, fiery hair was brushed back to keep the bangs out of his fierce-looking eyes. His muscles were toned with years of battle and swordplay. He wore a full plate armor of a metal that is unknown to me. His helmet was nowhere to be found. overall his warrior look gave off an aura of determination.
Last was Undine sitting next to Sylph upon a throne of water. Undine is a mermaid. her fins were long and beautiful like a mix of the goldfish and Siamese fighting fish with differing mesmerizing shiny colors. Her scales glittered with the light displaying like a mosaic. Her hair is as long as Luma's and umbra's and tied with clams in twin tails. She wore a dress of colorful shells and sea silk. she gave off an aura of vastness like that of the sea.
"You have done this world a great service, heroes." The First Goddess, Thyra, said. "You have sacrificed much and we will not ask that you sacrifice more, but we ask that you train your successors, for their sake."
"I am willing to do this task, for the good of the world" I answered, kneeling in respect with a fist over my heart.
"To teach others the joy of a challenging battle is a duty I will not disappoint, but if you need someone to go after these near calamities I will gladly rise up to the challenge!" Gokusan, the one more often known as the battle junky said, mimicking my kneeling stance. his deep booming voice echoed through the palace.
"There will be more beautiful girls? Ah! To be able to work so closely with them! I wonder if they have floral perfumes? Will they be highschoolers like we were? Ah! I can't wait!" This disgusting man had only stayed behind because he has more freedom to pursue his degenerate ways. I will not even give him the dignity of using his name. He was prostrating himself on the floor with a pose that screamed 'step on me, mistress!'
The deities gave the pervert disgusted looks.
"S-such humiliation! Those looks of vileness I can't get enough!"
"He doesn't need to hear the rest nor would he care to," Salamander said with a growl.
"""Agreed""" The other deities nodded and Thyra waved her hands, dismissing the pervert. His form faded out of existence and back onto the world.
"I really hope we don't get more like him" Undine, the goddess of water and nature said with her musical voice.
"First thing you need to know, heroes," Thyra said, continuing as if nothing had happened. "Is that Calamities work on a different system than the one you are used to"
We waited for her to continue listening to her every word without interrupting
"Although they still use the normal one. Think of it as double-dipping. Not only are they being strengthened by the normal system they are also gaining power from the calamity system." Thyra said.
"The problem being that Both the Lightning Lord and Onyx are already incredibly powerful. Especially the Lightning Lod, who would be more accurate to call the Lightning Emperor or the Storm Emperor" Gnome said with his deep gruff voice.
"Why" I couldn't hold back my curiosity "What's the difference?"
"There can only ever be one Lord at a time. There can be no two demon lords. No two wind lords. No two lightning lords. But, there can, however, be a Lord and Emperor" Gnome answered. "Only when one becomes more suitable to the title does it switch from a living being to another. This is why there have been no emperors in along time, all the calamities have them, and they aren't easy to get in the first place."
"How did the Lightning Lord get so strong? Isn't he a low tier S rank?"
"About a century and a half ago there was a being very close to becoming a calamity, we were keeping watch on it and had even ordered it to be slain. This being was a Jackalope, he was known at the time as the Storm Lord" Luma said.
"But he went missing after challenging the dragon lord, we assumed they killed each other and no Storm Lord had been seen since. To be honest, we lost track of it and it was never an issue since then. We now believe the Lightning Lord is the Storm Lord, now Storm Emperor" Umbra, the goddess of Death and darkness, continued her twin's explanation.
"This brings us to why you are here. We left some things out of our oracle." Thyra said.
"Namely, that you've been using calamities to help you in your fight with the Demonlord" Salamander interrupted. Thyra looked annoyed and narrowed her eyes at the flaming man.
"What?!" I exclaimed. We've been using them?!
"Yes," Thyra confirmed "Those summoning orbs contain sealed lesser calamities. They project their power out in an avatar in a devastating attack. That's why they can only be used for one powerful attack, any more and we risk giving the calamity an opportunity to break free. That should give you all you need to know how strong some of these calamities can be"
These summoning orbs deliver attacks so strong the top seven are still stronger than my strongest attacks. If the calamity inside of them breaks free they could do that over and over again. This gives me a reference point on where to place calamities in terms of power.
"You said these are lesser calamities right? Can greater ones even be sealed?" Gokusan said. Betraying his thoughtless reputation.
"Yes, specifically calamities at the rank of twenty-five and under are one that can be sealed in summoning orbs. Those over the rank of twenty-five can only be detained in an area that have been called dungeons" Thyra looked at me.
"Remember that time when you wanted to investigate the Silent forest? The rank Thirty-nine calamity Bloodroot lives there. Although he can be slain, it'd take cutting down every tree on the world to slay him, as every time he is slain he is reincarnated in another tree. He is detained in that forest so long as it stands, if the forest is destroyed he is freed"
"That's why you personally forbid me from continuing that investigation!"
"Yes, you wouldn't even have made it to the calamity, he warps all living plants within his aura and turns them into carnivorous man-eaters that attack all sources of sound. It was sad what happened to Sara but there was nothing you could have done, she was already dead by the time you found out"
"And the other calamities are just as hard to slay?" Gokusan asked.
"Yes" Sylph chimed in.
"What's the strongest Calamity?" Gokusan asked.
"Cevonis, the Dracolich, rank fifty," Thyra said. "Any Calamity above rank fifty are impossible to contain, they are simply too strong"
"And that is why they must never be freed, especially Cevonis" Salamander said.
"A team of heroes will be summoned, not to slay demon lords but to contain calamities and slay Onyx and the lightning lord. They will also look for this 'Daughter of Calamities'. That is their mission. Once completed they will be given the choice to be sent back to Earth like you" Thyra said.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
"But if any Calamities are born or freed they must also deal with them too" Gnome added.
"You are dismissed" Thyra waved her hands and we are returned to where we were before the gods summoned us to the divine palace.
But something gnawed at the back of my mind. How do they know a calamity above rank fifty can't be contained in any way? And more importantly what was sacrificed to kill such a calamity?
This brings us back to the present. I stood in front of a massive summoning circle. Hundreds of priests stood on the edge of the circle chanting in rhythm.
"I never thought I'd be on this side of the ritual," I told my wife, Shaila. Her belly was swollen with our child. I had expected a life of retirement, plenty of time to enjoy a family. I even hunted Onyx to make a safe world for our children. I never once thought there'd be danger beyond my imagination, especially since they are so close to being a real, uncontained threat.
"This world has many surprises" Shaila responded, rubbing her gravid belly. And giving me a knowing smile.
Yes, This world has too many surprises. Demonlord was expected, I was familiar with isekai stories back on Earth but these calamities? Onyx being as strong as a hero? The Storm Emperor? No one had expected those.
"Wait, what?" It just dawned on me, Shaila was talking about something completely different.
"Looks like we are going to have twins!" Shaila gave me a wide smile.
Returning Shaila's smile I gave her a tight hug. I can't show her my worry but at the same time, I am ecstatic. These conflicting feelings swirled around me in awkwardness.
Just then the ritual hit its climax and with a flash of light a class of thirty students had appeared within the huge circle. Now I know why it was drawn so large this time. We weren't summoning five more heroes we were summoning enough for six squads of heroes.
The students looked around in confusion though some seemed to have caught on fast.
"We actually got Isekai'd?!" one of the students shouted. I stepped forward and loudly clapped my hands.
"Everybody calm down!" I shouted over the teenagers. They looked to be about sixteen or seventeen. Around the age I was summoned three years ago.
"I know some of you are a little disoriented so let me explain. Just like I was, you have been summoned from Earth to this world. Some of you are accepting these next words so let me just say it. This world is facing peril and you have been summoned as heroes to defend it. Upon completion, you can choose to go back or stay as I did. If you choose to go back, worry not, you'd be sent back to about a minute after you've left. Almost no time would have past"
"Are we going to slay a demon lord?" The boy who first noticed their isekai-ing asked.
"No, I already took care of that three years ago. Now our world is threatened by something else"
"Then why don't you go deal with it! Why drag us into your problems" A tall boy stepped forward.
"Because, this threat is at least equal to the strength of the demon lord, and probably way more powerful. It took five of us heroes to kill the demon lord and now that two of us had chosen to go back we simply lack the power to deal with one of them" I stared down at the boy.
"There are three targets so far. The longer this threat persists the stronger it gets and the more threats there will be. One of them I have personally fought and lost a few days ago. Although I was unprepared. The other threat we simply can't fight right now as it's the one equal in strength to the Demon Lord. A class X monster known as the Storm Emperor, formerly known as the Lightning Lord.
The third threat is unknown and may not even exist yet but it's the one with the most destructive potential, this threat is currently known as the 'Daughter of Calamities' these are your targets. We will help you fight them and we will personally train you to fight them.
Also. If any of you have any insight on the prophecy which will be retold to you once you've settled yourselves please let us know. The nature of prophecies is a dangerous one and deciphering their meaning could help us in combating the coming threats"
I nod to the priests to let them know to take over and deal with these heroes in training.
"This is bullshit! You are kidnapping us and forcing us to fight to the death against some threat! Why should we even bother helping you?!" A girl challenged.
"Three days ago I was giving a report of a girl from another world that came to this one. We did not summon her, and about a day later there was an explosion so powerful it annihilated the northern part of this country with just the shockwave alone. I investigated the source and found a molten crater almost six hundred miles in diameter" I said. Turning around and facing the girl.
The entire priesthood had gathered together with me to discuss the prophecy. Something about this "Empire with no future seeking to conquer" gives me bad vibes. The reason why the gods told us in the first place was so that they can get the best of the entire world to figure out what might happen and come up with strategies to counter threats.
"If these two events are connected then it's possible someone sent a weapon capable of causing an extinction event to this world. Earth could be next" I drop the bombshell that shut all dissenters up. "You are only required to fight the calamities, but we will be investigating this otherworldly traveler and the explosion that not only wipe out half of this kingdom but half or more of all the countries around the explosion"
___________________________________
POV Change
It's been two days since we were summoned to this world. I can hardly believe it! Yeah, it was fun to imagine being summoned to a fantasy world with magic and becoming a hero but when you hear the words 'Demon Lord' it suddenly changes. It's no longer all rainbows and sunshine. Worse, since apparently the 'Demon Lord' we have to fight are calamities that you can't even kill!
Today we are going to get our abilities checked but I have absolutely no confidence. I've always been a talentless shy girl. I am the opposite of athletic. My grades are mediocre and the only thing I am good at is reading books and manga.
I took off my glasses and rubbed the blurry colors out of my eyes. It didn't work despite doing so several times now. Ever since coming to this world, I've been seeing these aura like things around everything. I'm starting to think the summoning made my eyes worse.
"Are you okay, Aina?"
"Ah, yeah, I think I got something in my eye. Thank you, Nozomi" Nozomi is the captain of the archery club. She's the exact opposite of me. Dependable, talented, a good leader, smart, athletic, I could go on.
I sighed, I really am not fit to be a hero meant to save the world.
"Got something on your mind?" Nozomi asked.
"Riku! You're next!" Masato called. As Niko came out his friends asked to compare skills and abilities.
"What do I have that can be called 'heroic'? All I can do is read books. Compared to you who can do everything... I have nothing" I complained.
"Well you have me beat in one department," Nozomi said, looking at my chest and grabbed a handful. "Have you grown again?!"
"Eeh! S-stop!" I protested
"This is unfair! You're already the biggest in the school and you're still growing?! Share some would you!"
"Nozomi!" Gokusan boomed, why does he have such a loud voice?
"Kya!" Nozomi, doing something perverted just now, jumped at the sudden voice.
"You're next! Common over and let me see just how much potential you have! HAHA!" Gokusan gave a hearty chuckle while flexing his muscles.
Nozomi timidly walked over to the bear of a man trying to look as small as she could.
"Ahhh! I'm finally free from him!" Koharu said. "Wanna see my skills? Everyone is showing them off" Koharu offered.
"Eto, I don't mind," I mumbled while shyly looking at Koharu's adventurer card.
It looks like she has several mundane 'skills' running, for example. Seems like this world keeps track of everything you do. She also has several fighting skills, which makes sense as she is in the MMA Club. The things that jumped out most are her two titles: Otherworldly Traveler, and 'Hero' and her unique ability, [Ultra Instinct], I was immediately reminded of a popular anime when I read that ability. Apparently it's like a perfect foe sense and danger sense, all the precognitive skills rolled into one ability.
"Aina! You're up!" Masato said. I walked over to him and was escorted into a room with a crystal panel and an orb.
"There are three of you heroes, right Masato? Why are only two of you doing this? Would it not go faster with three?" I asked.
"It's for your safety that he isn't here. Trust me, this world doesn't have restraining orders so do your best to stay away from him." Masato replied.
"Restraining order?"
"Yes, that was his reasoning for choosing to stay here" Masato had a look of pure disgust. "Anyway let's not talk about anything unpleasant. Put your hand on that orb"
I did so and the crystal panel lit up with detailed information. Despite not being written in any language I know I still understood it. A bonus from the summoning ritual I'm told.
Aina Kanzaki
Race: Human
Sub-Race:
Age: 17
Stamina: 103
Mana: 308
Chi: 92
Mana Regen/Min: 12
Qi: 0
Stats:
Strength: 8
Agility: 9 (30.6)
Endurance: 7 (8)
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 15 (72)
Charisma: 11 (16.5)
Skills:
Str skills: 1.0
Agi skills: 3.4
End skills: 1.1
Calligraphy: 21
Video Gaming: 3
Running: 1
Int skills: 1.0
Wis Skills: 4.8
Cha Skills: 1.5
Reading: 38
Cleaning: 5
Positive Conditions:
Negative Conditions:
Abilities:
Blurred Vision: Hereditary
True Sight: Unique
Titles:
Otherworldly Traveler
Hero
Bookworm
Masato tapped the crystal panel display on my unique ability and an explanation of what it does expand under the ability.
True Sight: Gain the ability to read the information layer. S-stop peeking in on me, B-Baka!
Baka? Is the system a Tsundere?!
"Hmm, not much information on what it does but I can guess you can see other peoples stats without the scouter orb, honestly it's one of the most powerful abilities of your group, information is key, something I had a strong reminder just a few days ago." Masato patted my head making me blush
"I've almost died on so many occasions simply because the enemy had an ability they were keeping hidden, this single ability makes you the most valuable hero we have. Take pride in this ability as not even the gods can do what you can do. With your ability, we can properly find our enemies, see what they are capable of and plan accordingly"
"B-but I am really weak, even Koharu had way more skills than I, and her stats are a lot higher"
"Don't worry about that, your entire group will be in training. By the end of that, you'll be on par with the others. You'll even get fighting skills as part of the training, a lot of skills are actually made up of other skills. Like archery, it's actually a strength-based skill but it also trains the aiming skill which is agility based. By training with these skills that train multiple stats you can get a lot stronger in half the time, it's common practice to do so"
After everyone had their stats analyzed Gokusan and Masato called us all into one of the examining rooms.
"We have a good lead on who the 'Daughter of Calamities' might be. Keep in mind this is not proof, it could be and is likely a false lead but it's all we have." Masato scanned an adventuring card with the scouter orb and the stats of the person appeared on the panel.
"This person was last seen with both of our targets. Onyx, the Blood-Soaked Oni is suspected of kidnapping her. But she has been confirmed to have tamed our second and more dangerous target, the Storm Emperor, named Usagi.
"As you guys can see, her base stats are incredibly high, this means that the multiplier the system gives is just that much more potent, meaning she is at her weakest right now, but we are in a bind. We don't have enough strong people to fight Onyx or Usagi let alone both at the same time" Gokusan said.
"They are a dangerous combination, Onyx seems to excel at one on one fighting whereas Usagi excels at mass area damage. Keep her stats in mind as she is likely to get way stronger. She has access to unique and unknown magic. Although it's fortunate that she, at the time her stats was recorded, does not know how to fight" Gokusan further elaborated.
"I would like to point out she seems to be under severe brainwashing, likely from her own world and despite her recorded age she is technically immortal and looks to be around your age. She also has an implant that makes her act more like a child. It's possible she is not even aware of the consequences of her actions." Masato said
"What we are saying is that she is not a 'kill' target, she is a 'capture' target" Gokusan confirmed.
"How did you guys get her adventurer card? why didn't you capture her before?" Koharu asked.
"We did, but she escaped and was kidnapped by Onyx. She was brought to a local adventurer guildhall and was examined, the leader of that guildhall mailed us this card that was used to record her information." Masato explained. "She is an unfortunate child who has suffered at the hands of her dystopic world and should be rehabilitated and freed from the clutched of that world,"
"Is that world the one that attacked this one?" Nozomi asked.
"We don't know, but most likely. Artificial gravity, force fields, wormholes, Who knows what else they have in their arsenal. Androids? Spaceships? Regardless, it's not something we should worry about right now. We have training to do. We start early tomorrow so get your rest early" Masato Dismissed us.