Two guards were patrolling the outside, looking for anything suspicious or of note. They weren’t like the fancy gate guards, meant to be flashy and intimidating. Their uniforms were designed for practicality, but also they were common guards rather then gate guards they weren’t meant to stand out as much, and only some of the most skilled at perception guarded the gate, as well as having the skills to deal with any groups of monsters that approached.
That said, they still had decent quality equipment. Their job was to patrol the city and deal with things like drunken brawls or rowdy adventurers, since so many shops were in this area. They had small plates over their torsos and reinforced padding on their arms and legs, as well as the lower chest. Stylized to give it a sort of uniform, to make it clear they were guards. They had medium length swords, as well as arm guards and knee guards. And each had a metal helmet to help protect their heads, padded on the inside to avoid that metal from hurting them either in a scuffle And each had a small shield attacked to their left arm, to have it ready but avoid it being in the way.
You could say they were the normal guards while those at the gate would only ever be the elite and flashy ones, used to make a presence known and make sure everyone around had a feeling of safety.
These two guards had begun mindlessly chatting to pass the time.
"You know, I heard a Seer said there was a growing darkness in this area, and that Demons were trying to infiltrate the city".
"Ha. You know seer visions can be unreliable. Besides, they also said there would be a great and flashy battle with a setting sun within the city, but look around! The sun is already over halfway down, and I dont see or hear any bloody fighting".
"But what if they put wards around or something?"
"Yeah that might last for a moment, but not a sustained battle. Not within the city, with so many eyes and ears. Only someone with truly advanced magic, like the Magician of the Silver Hour, or Elizabeth could do something like that".
"Yeah, I guess you are right. And if he is the one fighting the demons, then we dont need to worry anyways do we?"
"True. I suppose there could be a battle going down right now maybe if he is involved, but we wont need to worry about that. After all, he is a legendary hero after all".
The two guards nodded, with no idea just how true their conversation they had for their own amusement was. No idea of the war raged between a Master Magician and Six Demons that was occurring right now.
----------------------------------------
While a battle of epic proportions had begun outside, Kuroki and Kaede were busy being rinsed and scrubbed by Ellie, who appeared to be about a forty- or fifty-year-old woman. She didn't hold back regardless of their protests or where she scrubbed and washed. Despite their instance they could do it themselves, she refused to relent, but then near the end twitched and decided that they could do it to each other after all, but not themselves, to finish up. Although she threatened if she even caught a single trace of them not having done a good job, she would make them go through it all over again. So basically, in really overzealous mom mode.
But if Kuroki would get his new clothes by tomorrow, as well as Kaede, it was all worth it. It seemed like the plan was for him to stay here until they were done, so aside from this right now, it didn't seem like he wouldn't run into any more events or situations before they were done. Of course, Kuroki probably should have realized that was a dangerous thing to say given his luck, but he was too tired to care and it was a very safe assumption.
As such, Kaede was currently washing Kuroki's back, after Kuroki had already washed hers.
Both of them let out a big sigh, despite the fact their faces were as red as could be.
"This is just terrible".
"Yeah, but thanks to these last few days, it at least seems tolerable by comparison".
"That is true. Besides, I think we should take the lessons of the hero to heart, and accept the culture here. I really don't want to be executed over something stupid".
"Same".
Even if the two of them were embarrassed as all hell, they had to make the entire trek to the city like this, and walked by who knew how many who realized the truth. Not to mention how many people saw Kuroki by the gates.
Not to mention both of them were influenced by the Mind Fortification that all Starfallen recieved, which improved their mental fortitude and helped them adapt to the different culture of this world.
In their previous world, they would probably be more flustered. They probably would have still been able to push through maybe, if they had someone as strict as Ellie forcing them too, but now their embarrassment wasn't able to make them freeze as much.
Once they were done, Kuroki groaned still though.
"There isn't even any towels?"
"As a top grade enchanter, she apparently uses something that might as well be a hair drier. I think there might be some under the sink though, but...we might as well give up on bringing them into the bath with us, since I am sure she would scold us and spank us both".
Understanding the danger they faced, the two of them got into the tub together. It was large enough to fit one adult and one child with some wiggle room, though not much. They might as well have been shoulder to shoulder or back to back.
But eventually they ended up facing each other so they could spread out a bit, since they both actually did want to relax in the bath. That meant their legs basically overlapped each other and occasionally hit each other on accident, but at the moment it didn't matter. Even when their butts sort of slid into each other, their faces went red but they didn't bother to move because their troubles felt like they were melting away.
"Finally, a warm bath! Not some stupid waterfall or lake or pond!" Kuroki let out a satisfied voice.
Kaede immediately picked up on those words, an equally blissful face on hers as she also raised her voice in excitement. "Ah, did you have a waterfall shower too?"
"You too?! It was so cold and the water was coming down way too strong!"
"Yeah, same! It was terrible!"
Both of them began to bond over their various complaints of the world. It didn't really stay any more centered on a topic then that though, but as two people from the same country, even if their common sense and resistances had melted away between the trek to the city, their enhanced mental fortitude, and the pleasant hot water of the bath, there were things they just had to get off their chest.
"That stupid hero! Why did all those women follow him anyways? I bet one of his dumb ass wishes was to charm women or something, I bet he was a super unpopular and shitty guy!" Kaede said, revealing that when she let loose, her language was a bit more expanded than one might expect of a ten year old.
"Yeah yeah! Did he really think attempting solo cultural contamination was a good idea?!"
"I wouldn't have minded if swimsuits took off, but I mean, it was obvious they weren't. This world clearly doesn't find nudity the same. Hell, apparently bathhouses and baths are actually considered social activities for groups, along with other times when people are naked together. Its apparently way more common in this world, also for security reasons when checking people for possible weapons or magic. Its pretty obvious any attempt to just randomly change or subvert its already developed culture would fail".
"And they also have their own cuisine too! Why would they adopt some random food from another country they never even visited based off of one person?!" Kuroki added.
They both let out a sigh.
"Lets not forget how he probably didn't actually know how to make any condiments anyways. I asked my big brother once, and he confirmed no one actually learns or remembers that stuff. No way any of those protagonists in all those stories did!"
"Yeah! The stories all lied to us! There are no cheat skills or get rich quick schemes! Its harsh! We don't even start with clothes!"
"I really dont get how that is by the way" Kaede mumbled. But Kuroki was quick to answer.
"Ah, I heard it was something about soul transference, not matter transference. According to Master, err, Amyris, apparently they can transport souls in but not actual matter. Of course, this is also why they have to do a hero summoning rather then summoning say, fighter jets or missiles or tanks or such. And also...nuclear bombs".
"...you know, given what those weapons are like, I take it back. Clothes are a small price to pay to make sure nukes dont come into this world full of war with no UN to manaage it".
Kuroki nodded. Both of them had never actually seen what nukes or tanks did themselves in real life, but considering what they learned in class, they knew enough. Perhaps it was just another aspect of their mental fortitude, but both of them knew that if it had come down to it in their previous world, a few days naked and more times naked and embarrassed over all was a small price to pay to avoid the dangers of modern weapons.
"Agreed. Not having nukes or guns is probably for the best, even if we do have magic. Also, not having landmines is especially good".
Kaede nodded at that. "I know I still hate it and complain and all, but it's a reasonable sacrifice. We can always get more clothes after all, but preventing nukes from being a threat when they enter the world? Yeah no thats too much".
There were constant wars between nations in this world. A single nuclear bomb would be catastrophic. Especially given how much damage it would actually do. A modern nuke would be so much worse.
It was then that Kaede gazed upon Kuroki's body. It wasn't like this was the first time she had seen a naked boy before. She had two brothers, and she had a group of friends that were both boys and girls that had gone skinny dipping in the woods, or through other various moments where they had gotten into some sort of trouble or shenanigans. Even though their town was bordering on a city, it had plenty of wilderness after all. Perhaps as a result, the two of them already had some resistance, since Kuroki was the same after all. Both of them came from the same place.
In fact, Kaede was attending his old elementary school. But that was besides the point.
She couldn't help but notice something was off about Kuroki's body. Ever since she came to this world, she felt like she had been far more observative. She heard from Ellie that Starfallen tended to gain abilities based on their wishes and desires, but while typically useful and even a bit strong, it wouldn't be anything overpowering. In truth, part of the reason she had spent so much time playing in the woods was because her parents were actually fighting with each other a bit, and might be getting a divorce. She didn't really get it, but she wanted to be more aware of how they and others felt so maybe they could mend their disagreement and be happy together again. Ellie said such a desire probably enhanced her ability to percieve. It was also why she could more easily percieve that Ellie was right about how she was wrong for throwing a hissy fit, and also why she could get so enthralled talking to people, she forgot about her own situation when she was observing others. Like how she forgot she was naked when learning Kuroki was a Starfallen and ran out to talk to him.
And that was why she could see, as she was able to look at him clearly for a long time now, that Kuroki had been hurt. A lot. At first it appeared he had beautiful, youthful skin. It was soft and nice to the touch, and was nice and smooth. But that was just on the surface. It wasn't inherently visible, but she thought perhaps he had a history of being bullied. She tried to think of ways to comfort him. However, when she started to think about that, she ended up remembering her own loneliness.
"Hey, Kuroki".
"Yeah, Kaede?"
"Do you...do you think we will see our parents again?"
"...I am sure you will find yours".
"Eh? What about yours?"
"My mom left years ago, and I would be much happier if my dad did not transport over to this world. He was a shitty person".
"Oh...sorry to hear that. Wait, then..."
Kaede suddenly sat up and leaned forward, closing in on Kuroki's body as she analyzed it completely.
"They are well hidden but...are those bruises? And other old injuries? So does this mean..."
Kuroki got a bit embarrased by all that, but while red faced, he recovered.
"Sorry, could I just have some personal space...anyways yes. My father called them lessons. To teach me how to be what he considered a boy or a man. If he learned I was learning magic, something he considered incredibly girly, he would either kidnap me...or kill me".
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Suddenly, Kaede lunged more forward and hugged Kuroki.
"I am so sorry. Thats so sad..." she said, barely holding in her tears.
"Its okay. You can cry that you want your parents. I understand" he said as her limbs wrapped around him and held him close. He no longer was embarrassed, but instead just held her close instead as she began to cry. They no longer cared the state they were in or who they were, right now a child had been dumped in a strange land without even the clothes on her back, made to make a dangerous trek, and was separated from her parents.
And so she began to cry and cry, as tears flowed down her face. Their mental fortitude boost was not all powerful nor all purpose. It did not prevent them from feeling things, it simply let them to push past it when necessary. At least to a degree.
And at some point, Kuroki began to cry as well.
"I hope my friends are okay..."
"I hope my family is okay..."
Amid the sniffles, they made these confessions. They did so as they cried and cried.
Ellie, who had been watching them in secret, nodded and smiled.
"Amyr was right. Sometimes one just needs a peer to talk to, rather then an old bag of bones like us".
Ellie mused that way as she suddenly appeared twenty years younger. She then looked over at the Demon that had made the foolish attempt of infiltrating her house, now locked inside of a cage in a secret room. It looked entirely beat up.
"So, they really thought this smallfry would be enough. Who hired you lot anyways? I suppose the Demons could be trying to kill the Starfallen themselves, but that seems rather unlikely for it to just be you lot. Nah, no way its that simple. Especially since there are just so many Starfallen...unless, perhaps are you panicking? Afraid at the sheer number brought to this world?".
The demon just spat at her.
"You wretch!"
"Now now, that is no way to treat your host you know?" she said, as the cage lit up with mana and he endured a great deal of pain. Not only that, but his size shrunk a bit. He went from adult sized to upper teenager sized, just like that.
"You came here to kill the Starfallen. Why?"
"I wont tell you a damned thing!"
Suddenly the cage activated again, and he let out even more screams of pain. By the time it was over, he was about the size of a thirteen year old boy.
"What the hell is this damn cage?"
"Oh nothing much. Its just specially enchanted to extract your time. Then I will be able to read your memories within it at my leisure".
"Thats...not possible!"
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Elizabeth Saziri, descendent of the young magician boy who helped the hero of one hundred years ago slay the demon king at the time. I suppose you could say I am one of the people who has slain the most demons at the time. And let me tell you, that Demon King had some dangerous tomes on Time Magic, and quite a number of records of experimentation on Demons. So I do hope you dont think you can escape, because that was made by one of your own Demon Kings, that cage".
The demon paled, immediately understanding both the woman in front of him, and the cage itself, were far beyond him. Still, he tried to resist again and break out, which resulted in even more pain and regression. He was now about the size of a nine year old. Even Kuroki was bigger than him at this point. His clothes of course hadn’t shrunk with him, which made him look ridiculous.
"Honestly, it's always a pain when you lot track me or Amyris down, but I suppose siphoning off your time for myself has its advantages".
"Wait, what?"
"See, its set up so it siphons time from you, making you younger, while then I recieve it in the form of extended time rather then getting older. Usually helps rejuvenate the skin and provides a nice beauty effect too. I actually have quite a bit stored up you see..."
Once she said that, she turned into a little girl of about nine years old herself.
"And thanks to my other research, I can pretty much take whatever and appear however old I desire".
"You monster".
"I am not the one who went after children" she countered.
She then looked back to the two children in question, who were busy comforting each other. Their emotional bonds growing and becoming strong.
I see. If he can draw out empathy like this, then perhaps Amyris can finally settle things that happened to Anna.
She decided she would be a bit forceful for the next twenty four hours with those two, but she was thinking of the future.
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At the same time, Amyris was fighting against the demons. There used to be six of them, but now three had become corpses, and the other three were gasping for air.
Furthermore, one of them was already in Amyris' hands, as Amyris was doing a cursory glance at their memories.
"Ah, so it seems you were ordered to do it. Someone who kept their identity hidden even from you. However, it seems you all work in isolated cells, so it appears none of the information has leaked yet. That means, all I need to do is kill you and the two will be safe, at least for a time".
"You bastard...to think you were the Magician of the Silver Hour".
"Yes, but you realized that far too late" he said, as suddenly the earth opened up under them, causing them to fall in before it closed back up and locked them in.
"What?! When did you..."
"Before me and the boy entered. Just to be safe".
He looked at the beings before him.
"Still, even if you all are low ranked demons, to think they sent so many of you".
In truth, it wouldn't be too abnormal for Demons to try and kill Otherworlders, given that the heroes are also Otherworlders like the Starfallen and who kept crushing their dreams of world domination. But Amyris and Ellie were unconvinced that things were so simple. Certainly, Demons did unify under Demon Kings, but otherwise they were a pretty divided bunch. The only thing that was different is that they lacked any capacity to have empathy for anything other then other Demons, and even then it could be rather muted.
So while it was actually fairly likely it was revenge, Amyris couldn't help but be suspicious. Perhaps the fact that this was the largest Starfallen event in the history of the world, by a huge margin and a couple of zeroes.
But something about it just felt off. Still, these were low ranking Demons.
"It's just so hard to come to a clear conclusion. They were absolutely hired by someone, but that someone seems to have obfuscated any memory they had about them, or perhaps just all magic that would reveal his identity? This is quite the problem".
Demons would also sometimes act as mercenaries for other nations, so this whole demon angle could be totally throwing him off.
It could be a Delathid Empire to the west. Perhaps they somehow caused all the Starfallen to appear, and then had people go after those that appeared in other Kingdoms. It could also be some scheme from The Unified Zai Fao states in the southeast, whose kings and nobles often get everyone else involved with their power struggles and cause no ends of headaches in terms of espionage. There is also the Nemulos Kingdom in the north, which has had a rather.....strange burst in power as of late, with talk of secret blood rituals and the like. Then of course, there is the continent of Rodan across the sea to the south, which has tried to expand recently with two wars into other nations of this continent as well.
The Empire seemed unlikely. They had such outragous and strict rules upon magic, and they hated Demons with a passion. At least publicly. BUt rumor had it they performed Blood Rituals to gain much of their power, so who knew for certain. And it was a fact conflict with the Empire was escalating. It wouldn't be strange for them to try something like this, especially since the Empire tended to break its own rules for its own convivence.
It could also be a Devil, but if that was the case, they were in quite a bit of danger. One could only hope that was not the case, since a Devil would be bad news for everyone.
Either way, it would take quite some time. Amyris finished off the low ranked demons as he contemplated this, showing his skill as a master wizard.
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At the same time, a far ways away, Akano was sitting in the chapel thinking to himself. He had ended up being rather shy anf flustered at the start, but after a few days of dealing with an incredibly strict nun, he knew he couldn't just stay in his room the whole time. At the moment, Akano was sitting on a bench, looking at the various statues. There were apparently quite a number of gods in this world, more then most nuns could remember by heart even. Naturally of course, the one he had first met did know them all.
This church was dedicated to Benevia, the God of Earth and Harvests, as well as Greth, the Goddess of the Sun, and Siria, The God of Maidens and Kindness. They appeared as an old man with a beard and a scythe, a woman with a moon, and a young boy wearing a white dress with a torch. Apparently, in this world, the term maidens was not gender specific, something that threw Akano at first. Especially given what was discovered about himself.
To think I would end up in another world with that sort of power...
Akano apparently had healing powers, as well as the ability to repel darkness and other support based abilities. This was in addition to an uncanny talent with a staff, and a strong affinity for magic that involved light and helping others. And who knew if he had any others as well.
Incidentally, the reason he was waiting in the chapel right now was because he seemed to possess the inherent ability to be a Shrine Maiden, and that he might have other abilities revolving around that. Plus, today was supposed to be the day the person came back with his clothes. In this time, the nun who had found him had found another Starfallen, although...admittedly it was a rather pointless one for his sake.
To be exact, it was a toddler who was probably only about three years old at most. But Akano figured it was closer to two. But it did leave the fifteen year old boy pondering something.
How many babies and infants were in the city that day?
If this was as wide reaching as he thought, it was likely the entire population of his city had disappeared. If that included the hospital, that was going to be a problem, since it meant countless wounded and injured were out there, as well as psych ward patients.
This was especially problematic since their city on the outskirts had a criminal psych ward for the criminally deranged. They took in people from other nearby areas as well, so they could be looking at a rather unpleasant rash of psycho murderers.
Although maybe we will get lucky, and one will murder Kuroki's shitty dad...nah, unfortunately thats unlikely. His father is an elite martial artist. Even if all four of us had worked together, we would have lost. I mean, we have grown since that time in elementary school, but still. Doubt its enough.
He, Reiji, and Juno had once come to Kuroki's defense in a rather haphazard way, by jumping in and fighting with his father when he was going to try and wail on him. It was pretty obvious it wasn't something Kuroki had wanted either, since he was not only naked but soaking wet, which meant his father had probably yanked him out of the bath and dragged him to the dojo.
In any case, the end outcome should have been obvious. He didn't just defeat them, he toyed with them until each of them were the same as Kuroki. The man truly was a psychopath. It was unclear how his head worked, but clearly he should have been sent to that mental facility.
Akano had briefly wondered if his magic could be used to heal whatever was mentally wrong with Kuroki's dad, but he gave up on that. It was unlikely it would work, and he doubted it was much more then some complex and a really shitty personality. Short of wiping away all his memories, there wasn't a way. And he didn't deserve such an excuse. Besides, that would basically be the same thing as killing him.
All of a sudden, he felt something squeeze his butt. He jumped out and flipped around, only to see an old man there.
"Well now, I dont think I have ever seen someone with both a look of justice and a dark pressence at the same time in a chapel before. And for it to be such a cute little boy too".
"I am not a little boy! My name is..."
"Akano. Fifteen years old. Well I am much older, and lets be honest, you still are".
This gave Akano a pause. So far no one had really believed him when he said he was fifteen, but this man knew it right off the bat?
"I heard about you from quite a few of the nuns. Always claiming they are fifteen years old and not a little boy. Would you prefer extremely little man then? And now you spend time here, praying to meet up with your friends soon, and that they remain safe. Especially your best friend, Kuroki, right? But that doesn't mean you are not worried about Reiji and Juno either".
Clearly this old man knew a lot. He had a staff beside him and a stereotypical wizard's hat, along with a grey robe covering his whole body. Even his feet were not visible.
But what was even more strange that was he entered a room with all these closed doors without him noticing. All of the doors in this room creak, and Akano did not think he was that distracted. But also, for some reason, even with the man standing in front of him, Akano could not feel this man's pressence at all.
This old guy...he isn't normal.
"I thought I would give you some good news. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you where they are. But your three friends, Kuroki, Reiji, and Juno are all still alive".
Although keeping up his guard, Akano felt some relief. He wanted to be suspicious of the man's words, but it was like his voice made it so that he couldn't.
"At the moment, Kuroki has been found and picked up by a master wizard who has agreed to train him, and already started. He is right now enjoying a nice bath with another Starfallen he met, although ultimately it seems she is destined to continue to be a sort of...how would I say this so you would understand....her destiny isn't as great? Ah, I know. Think of her like a recurring side character that appears quite a bit. Although, who knows, perhaps her destiny will change as well".
Akano felt like he should suspect the old man way more, but it was almost like he couldn't.
"Reiji appears to have taken the path of the warrior. He and Juno will arrive in a different city soon, and begin work as adventurers".
"Wait, Reiji and Juno appeared with each other?"
"No, but they did appear close together and unlike most of you, Juno remained awake during the process somehow, so he was able to track the directions of some people and immediately headed for them. Juno seems to be taking the path of the rogue. Perhaps unexpected, giving his overflowing empathy, but it perhaps also works for him well sincce he is used to controlling his emotions".
"You...who are you? No, what are you?"
The old man disappeared from his sight, and then Akano felt that unpleasantness again. He let out a yelp as he jumped forward and twisted around, seeing the old man standing behind him.
"I suppose you could say I am intermediary, Shrine Maiden. Here to introduce you to your new god. Ah, forgive me. My name is Benevia".
Now that he had turned around again, he could see the old man, and the statue behind him, and certainly. The carved face was identical to the old man's face.
Furthermore, standing next to him was a young boy hiding behind the old man suddenly. He had blonde hair and golden eyes, and a soft and gentle face. He had large round eyes, but a small frame, even smaller then Akano. He appeared to also not be wearing anything, however that barely mattered since he radiated such late that in truth, it was difficult to see from the front if he was a boy or a girl. But Akano had the feeling he was a boy.
"This is Talia, the God of Friendship and Light. His magic gets stronger when its against malice and darkness, or when you are doing it for your friends. The stronger the bond between those friends, the stronger the magic. It wont be anything ridiculously strong mind you, but it will be useful, especially in the right moments".
"...so you are a god".
Akano had suspected halfway through, but now he had his confirmation.
"Why cant you tell me everything? Or send me right to my friends? And...would you mind leaving my butt alone?"
"Because there are countless rules regarding our interaction. Technically we are already breaking a few of them right now, but something this minor wont be noticed by Ordius, the God of Order who has made all these rules. And as for your butt, its been awhile since I have had such a cute boy. See, unfortunately, most people who worship me are old people, mainly farmers, even though I should encompass more then that. But I suppose you could say its just the different mindsets because mortals and gods think differently. Gotta enjoy life".
Akano felt like a headache was coming on and decided to drop that particular subject for now.
"But why did you all bring us to this world?"
"I am afraid we can't answer that fully...except that it was not us that did this".
Wait, they can't answer, but it wasn't them? Or wait, did he just mean it wasn't the two gods in front of me right now?
"We hope you succeed in your endeavors and live a long, wonderful life with your friends, Akano. As a sign of our support, we have decided to give you a little help with a lucky occurrence to get going".
Before Akano could get any more answers, they disappeared. Unfortunately, thanks to the vagueness of their answers, Akano in the end only ruled out two of the gods of this world being involved.
In the end, Akano was left with more questions than answers. And then, as if to interrupt this, the doors flung open.
"I am back with the clothes! You won't believe it, but we got majorly lucky! I thought we were going to have to use cloth to make our own, but I somehow was able to find an entire second hand outfit in the little boy's size! Ahahaha! You can call me Merry the Great! I even found shoes that should last him a good long time, and even a spare set of boxers and a shirt!".
Well, I think I figured out what they meant when they said lucky occurrence.
The gods might sometimes be vague and mysterious, but this was a rather blatent and straightforward boon. Not that Akano had any intention of complaining.
And so the clocks turn ever onwards, as the new day arrives.