Come in Pieces

I'm a decent person. I come in Peace.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

He's definitely an oddball.

“N-nothing?”

“Nothing.” He reiterated. “Your technology and capabilities are far too primitive to stave off a Star Eater.

“So what’s the point in telling me—us all this?”

He shrugged. “Would you rather perish without knowing the reason? At least you’d have time to say goodbye to your loved ones.”

“Wait. That’s it? That’s your only purpose here? To just inform us and… leave?”

“Pretty much. This is why I like you, Agent Lee. You’re less stubborn.”

“The feeling isn’t mutual.”

“I know.”

“Can’t you, like, use your magic or something?”

“I could…”

“Then—”

“...but why?”

“Huh?” She definitely did not expect that question.

“You humans… Not only are you killing off your own kind, but you’re killing off your own planet as well.”

“Well—”

“You’re all humans but you discriminate based on skin color? Hell, even right now, things are all messed up. You have wealthy humans running off of greed and just ruining everything. You’re hindering your own evolution, you know.”

She couldn’t answer. Could she even refute him? What he said was true but… “Isn’t it unfair to judge us for that? We are capable of more, we—”

“—shot at me after I got rid of your enemies. You didn’t even know there were traitors in your midst.”

“That’s right! We didn’t know! For us, it was self defense.”

“You tried to take me down when I surrendered myself peacefully.”

“You appeared out of nowhere! This is a secret location. You could be a threat!”

“I still am.”

“...”

“That’s why you ‘detained’ me as Subject Zero, isn’t it? You humans are destructive creatures. You destroy everything around you and yourselves.”

“We’re capable of more than that.”

“I believe you. But you are rare. People like you are far too few to save this doomed world.”

She wanted to believe it wasn’t true. Majority of the people suffer for the greed of the few. But even in that majority, it was hard to find good people. Most just look out for themselves. Trust was hard to build up. Hope was a scarcity. It’s why one small act of kindness is enough to give hope to some people. That was how low people’s faith in humanity was.

“Tell you what,” he spoke. “I can at least save you and maybe a couple more people. A few of the good ones. Find a nice world where you can thrive. Something like that. Don’t worry about those outside. Right now, they can’t hear nor understand what we’re talking about.”

She pondered for a while but… “No.”

“Pardon?”

“No. There’s no point in surviving like that. All I’d be doing is leaving the rest of humanity to die. I can’t live with that burden.”

He smiled and nodded. “See. This is why I like you, Agent Lee. You’re one of the good ones.”

A miniature sun appeared on the table. From afar, a leech-like creature can be seen wriggling towards it. Subject Zero grabbed the creature. It burst into flames, emitting a piercing screech as its life was snuffed out.

“There.”

“J-Just like that?”

“Just like that.” He nodded. “This is the seventh world I’ve been in. You’re the first to ever make this decision.”

He stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. “I’d love to take you out for dinner but I need to go. At the very least, allow me to extend some protection to you and your family. Not everyone out there is as good of a person as you.”

He snapped his fingers and disappeared with a pop. Indeed, just like that. No explanation. No sense of closure. Nothing.

“I really don’t like him at all,” she sighed.

For some reason, even though this is 7k characters, reddit was saying it was 10k characters.

I went a bit flexible with the destroying part.

“Subject Zero, was it?”

“Eh… close enough.”

“I’m here to—”

“I know.”

Agent Lee’s brow furrowed. Of all the tasks assigned to her, it had to be this one. She dressed professionally. She was prepared for the hardest interrogation subject.

But not this one.

The moment she entered the interrogation room, her cheek twitched. Black slacks. Blue shirt. Unkempt hair. Leather shoes. For a detained subject, he dressed pretty nicely. Not that they could control it, even if they wanted to. He didn’t like the orange jumpsuit. When they tried to hold him down, several officers were hospitalized. It was a wonder why he surrendered himself in the first place.

Subject Zero. No name nor records. He was ‘found’ during one of the covert rescue missions. The mission was going well until the team was ambushed by enemy force.

Subject Zero appeared and mowed down soldiers and vehicles. He had some sort of supernatural strength and power. After that, he attacked and killed several allied units. The team responded with deadly force to no avail. Most of them were wiped out including the hostages.

It was later found out that those allied units were leaking intel to the enemy. The hostages were bait and disguised enemies. When Subject Zero surrendered himself, it caused quite the commotion. After all, he came knocking on their doorstep. The complete secrecy of the location made it absurd. When asked for his reasons, he simply said he was bored.

Getting answers from him was easy. It was understanding those answers that was difficult. He claimed to be immortal and proficient in magic. He always had anecdotes and stories. He liked to brag about his conquest of goddesses and celestial beings alike.

“So… uh, Subject Zero,” Agent Lee coughed. “It’s rare for you to request an interrogation.

“Well, it was a fun way to pass the time.” He leaned back comfortably.

A groan. Several interactions with Subject Zero made her weary. Agent Lee was open in showing her dissatisfaction. Her honesty actually amused him so she didn’t care about pleasantries.

“Tell me, what’s so fun about it?”

“The way you try to understand my words. You can’t believe it but you can’t disprove it either.”

A lot of people were skeptical about magic. But they saw him open up a portal. He went and purchased some food then closed the portal.

He said something about using illusory magic to mess with cognition. The people on the other side of the portal wouldn’t notice anything strange. Just a man trying to buy food.

When asked why he didn’t use it on the agents in the facility, he just shrugged. He said it was one way for them to believe him. He wanted to be seen by them.

“What’s so different this time around?” She inquired.

He fixed his slouch, sitting up in a proper posture and leaning forward.

“Your world is about to end, unfortunately.”

She stared at him, analyzing his expression, twitches, eye movements, everything. He was known to mess around with agents and pass things off as a joke.

One time, he changed one of the agents’ genders on a whim. Or maybe not. That seemed to make the agent really happy as they’ve been on medication for that. He said it was his thanks for keeping him company.

This time was different. He seemed serious. There was no trace of mischief on his facade.

“How exactly?”

He sighed and started to explain the concept of Star Eaters. The name alone was easy to get the context of. Planet-sized beings that feed on stars for sustenance. One was heading towards the Sun.

Agent Lee waited for the punchline. She waited for his ‘just kidding’. There was none. Instead of asking for more proof, she decided otherwise. Instead, she placed herself in a mental state of assuming everything he said was true.

“What can we do about it?”

“Nothing.”

Finding out about your superpower was a gamble. It can be ridiculously stupid or deathly embarrassing. I guess that’s why these people wear masks, huh?

I can’t really do that. Nope. Not even with a mask. I’d like to pretend that I haven’t figured out my ability yet. There’s no way in hell I’d tell anyone how it activates either.

But… it looks like I have no choice.

The asteroid was already a few light minutes from Earth. The shattered remains of our moon would soon rain down from the skies.

Both heroes and villains alike were doing their best. Some were dancing. Someone was walking upside down. There was one that started clucking like a chicken. Every time they laid an egg, they cracked it open. A random weapon of sorts popped out.

I rushed to the bathroom. My coworker saw me clutching my stomach.

“You really got Taco Bell for our last meal, huh?”

I guess he was hiding his despair with humor. I just chuckled and went to the bathroom.

As I sat down and did my business, I pondered really hard.

‘What if… there was a barrier around the earth. It would be like a part of the atmosphere. It could maybe possibly deflect debris from space. I really don’t get it. But what if…’

I kept thinking as hard as I could as I pushed the pain out from my stomach.

After I did my business, I cleaned up and went outside. People were cheering. It seems like there was a hero out there that did something. What it was, they didn’t know. All they knew was that the moment the moon shards and the asteroid disintegrated. It happened as soon as it made contact with the atmosphere.

My coworker was crying. "We're not gonna die..."

“Yeah,” I nodded. “That would have been [Really Shitty], right?”

Falling Head over Heels: The Queen and the Grand Sorcerer

Grimzon continued his way towards the castle. He marched alone.

His army of valkyries and other summoned beings were only securing the perimeter. Given that this was the capital of the kingdom, that took a lot of manpower. There were all sorts. There were beasts like dire wolves. But there were also undead like dullahans.

As if to show dominance, none of them accompanied him. As he entered the halls, he was greeted with several maidens.

“Ah, I figured this was the case,” he nodded. Unlike the previous people he encountered, these women had clouded eyes. Despite that, the amount of murderous intent directed at him was intense.

He stepped to the side as one haphazardly charged at him with a dagger. He placed a hand on her head. The sound of shattering glass echoed. The woman lost consciousness and fell on the ground. He would have caught her but he had to leap into the air. Arrows struck right where his feet were. Thankfully, it didn’t hit the other person but still. He had a lot of enchantments to dispel.

He kicked down the doors to the throne room. The guards were more than willing to open it but he was a bit frustrated. He had left a lot of unconscious women in his wake. He did his best not to harm them. Their minds were already muddled enough with the hero’s enchanting.

He was annoyed because he thought that such things were lowly acts. One should subjugate based on power. And he was going to show them what true power is.

As he walked into the throne room, he saw the queen guarding the king. Just like the others, she had clouded eyes.

He held his hand up to set up a ward. In that moment, countless ice needles rained down on him.

“Impressive,” he muttered.

The queen started chanting a spell. He recognized that spell. It was one of the strongest ice spells he knew.

“Too slow,” muttered and disappeared from sight. He reappeared in front of the queen and placed his palm on her chest. A concussive blast of air shot out and knocked the wind out of her, canceling the chant.

As she fell on her knees, she looked up at him. He grabbed her by the chin. His lips curved into a grin. She had this much talent. She had more room for growth too. Yes. What better way to completely usurp the throne than to claim the queen as well, he thought.

“I like you. You’re mine now,” he declared. As the sound of shattering glass echoed, the cloudiness faded from her eyes.

The frightening thing about that enchantment was beyond what Grimzon thought. The queen knew what her body was doing. But she had been unable to stop herself. She can only watch as she was forced to obey orders. The same could be said for those other maidens.

With the atrocities she committed, she wanted to atone. She wanted to beg to be killed.

“I…” She tried to speak but he placed his finger on her lips.

“I do not accept objections. You belong to me now.”

For some reason, that gesture made her cheeks flushed. It was a show of power. Yet those hands felt gentle. Her knees weakened and she could not get up.

“Tch,” the king clicked his tongue as he slowly got up from the throne. “A shame. I’ve yet to taste her. What a useless bitch…”

The king has had several queens. A lot of them have died due to ‘sickness’ or an ‘unfortunate accident’. People were getting suspicious with some of the maidens being called to the castle. The clueless ones would think nothing of it when they see the maidens alive and well. They were unaware of the enchantments and mind muddling.

The king himself looked intimidating. He was once a famous warrior. He had a lot of anti-magic accessories so he was confident. He even had the ‘will never die’ enchantment.

“[Niflheim]” Grimzon snapped his fingers. The queen would have taken a few seconds to complete the chant. He did it with just a word.

The king froze and felt his body as solid as ice. One by one, the accessories fell from his person. Unable to handle that much magic power, they shattered.

“[Yggdrasil]” Grimzon pointed at the king with a malicious grin. Slowly, roots started to sprout from under. They wrapped around the king’s legs and spread until they covered everything but his head.

Grimzon hummed a tune as he walked to the king and took the crown off his head.

“Letting you die would be a disservice. Not when I have a perfect specimen as a renewable source of energy.”

The roots of [Yggdrasil] drained people of their life force. This was converted into all kinds of energy to power up a lot of things. The downside was that it kills the victims over time. He couldn’t let this opportunity slip.

The king’s expression distorted into that of pain and despair. Slowly, the roots pulled him into the ground.

The grand sorcerer walked up to the empty throne. He sat upon it, and placed the crown on his head.

“Come,” he motioned for the queen.

At this point, she was still on her knees, completely dumbfounded by what happened. She put strength onto her legs and slowly got up. As made her way to her throne, he raised his hand.

“No, here.” He crossed his legs and motioned to his lap.

The queen hesitated slightly before doing as told. As she sat across his lap, he wrapped arm around her waist. He leaned back and placed his elbow on the arm of the throne.

As he leaned his jaw on his fist, he remarked.

“Honestly, that was pretty fucking easy.”

Now he can enjoy all the money, women, and leisures that he wanted. But first he needed to make sure this kingdom can sustain itself enough for him to savor those.

[Well, that should conclude with that, I guess. 😅]

Beginning of the Fall: The Kingdom's Hero

This is just something I kept thinking about so this may seem random. I'll probably end this with another post about the Queen.

There was little to no resistance as he strolled his way in. The guard captain did his best. He had his men go around the residential district. They assured the citizens that no harm will come to them.

Not that any of them would even want to do anything. Those that had come up felt the healing pulse of magic wash over them. They no longer felt sickly. A lot of them had injuries from being overworked. They were healed within moments.

An elderly shopkeeper came out. He had been having trouble with his back for a while. He felt spry. He still felt his age but he was sure he could go on for a few more years.

This old man saw Grimzon and respectfully bowed his head. Seeing that, the other citizens started to do the same.

“Good,” he muttered to himself as he neared the nobles’ district. It was here that there was some form of resistance. Some of the guards were hesitant. They didn’t want to go against the sorcerer. But the noble behind them was barking out orders.

‘If I kill him,’ he thought. ‘It will be an achievement.’

“Oh? There are fools who still don’t know their place?” Grimzon stopped in front of the guards.

“Do you know who you’re talking to?” The noble barked.

“No.”

“I’m—”

“Dead,” he cut him off. Along with his head. The wind blade was fast and precise. It was also chantless, a feat most court mages desire.

As the noble’s head rolled, the guards started to part. They threw down their weapons and lowered their heads.

Little to no resistance. Barely an inconvenience.

A couple more foolish nobles later, and he was near the royal residence. Why did he walk, you ask? To show that he can simply stroll into the kingdom. That those who would dare go against him would be put down without mercy. Plus, he wanted to show the people who exactly it was they were dealing with.

“Halt!” There was one brave enough to ignore their foolishness.

“Ah, the ‘hero’, was it?” Grimzon sneered. “More like a lapdog, honestly.”

He flicked his wrist and sent an earthen spike towards the hero. They blocked it easily with their shield.

“I’ve heard about your ability,” he said. “I think you’re wasting your potential.”

This hero had the ability to enchant items with ‘words’. From what he heard, they were famous for their combat ability. They were known for countering their opponents. They had shields that ‘block everything’ and weapons that ‘can’t be blocked’.

They were also notorious for shaming all the warriors of the kingdom. They kept proving themselves to be the strongest. They even had a contest with some of the smiths. They enchanted a weapon as ‘stronger than any sword’ and that was it.

The king made use of them to cut the budget of the equipment. Who knows where that extra funds went. But once that enchantment runs out, it’s just useless scrap. That was how he dealt with those knights. Just... enchantment removal.

“You have no idea what I can do,” the hero said smugly.

“Well, neither could you,” Grimzon chuckled.

At that moment, the earth spike hit the hero’s side.

“You can block but only when and where you know it’s coming from.”

Agitated, the hero summoned more shields that spun all around them. Grimzon crashed down a lightning bolt on the hero. After that, he kept sending jabs at where there were openings.

Eventually, the hero holed up in a ball made out of shields. There were spears protruding from them. It was supposed to be the combination. Unbreakable shield. Unstoppable spear.

Feeling victory in their enclosed space, they started rolling towards the sorcerer.

Grimzon stopped it with but a hand. (Well, physical enhancement spells helped.) Wind blades snapped off the spears.

“Yeah. The shields are not unstoppable and the spears are not unbreakable,” he laughed and shook his head.

“[Agneyastra.]”

Scorching hot flames surrounded the lump of shields. The spears started to melt and seal off the ball of metal.

Grimzon could sense that the hero was still alive. They probably enchanted themselves with the ability to ‘survive anything’. He had his suspicions that the skill was not limited to items. He wondered if the disappearances of maidens had something to do with this. Every time the hero visited a village, one or two young girls would end up missing.

“Well, enjoy your trip.” A bit of anti-gravity magic made it easy to send the lump of metal flying. It should reach one of the suns in time.

Even if they survived, the hero would stop thinking eventually.

Will get to the other prompts eventually. They're pretty interesting.

Before the Fall: The Gates Open

[I am more used to writing in the third person. I had to go back and edit some stuff previously since the writing perspective got mixed. This will take several posts most likely.]

The sorcerer Grimzon approached the gates. Not by foot but by a grand open carriage. To make his entrance more regal, he had armored bicorns pulling the carriage. Around him were squads of pegasi, each mounted by an armored maiden.

The guard captain’s feet quivered upon seeing the approaching storm. It was his duty to protect the citizens of the kingdom. He must keep the enemy at bay even at the cost of his life.

Still, there was no way they could stop this man. Word had spread that he had gone through every major city before the capital. Those that fought against him were all wiped out. The stories seemed exaggerated. But he had no choice but to believe it.

As the carriage stopped in front of the gates, Grimzon’s voice boomed. “I want the gates open within a minute. Do so and I shall spare the lives of all who would submit. Those who wish to oppose me shall be removed from existence.”

The guard captain had a minute to decide. He kept trying to rack his brain of a solution but there was none. If he kept the gate shut, they would all perish. If they opened the gates, they would be traitors and executed.

That is, if the kingdom could even defeat the grand sorcerer.

“If… if is good.”

He gathered up his courage and ordered his men to open the gates. He claimed that he will take all responsibility. He told them that they should claim he betrayed the kingdom and opened the gate on his own.

His subordinates felt the intent of their captain. So they banded together and opened the gates on their own. As a unit, they marched out of the gate… and threw down their weapons. They all went down on one knee and lowered their heads to their foe.

“My lord. My life will be yours to use,” the guard captain spoke. “All I plead is that you spare my subordinates and our families.”

In the next moment, Grimzon stood right in front of the squad. “Now that’s more like it! Yes, you are a smart one. The weak simply must obey the strong, must they not?”

“Y-yes, my lord.”

“Good, good. Since your squad has been the first to realize my greatness, I shall grant you mercy.” Grimzon started to walk towards the open gate. He waved his hand and signaled to the pegasi riders.

“These people are now my subjects. Protect them and their families,” he declared.

The guard captain could only sigh in relief.

“Raise your heads. Stand up and gather your families. The valkyries are on your side.” With those words, Grimzon continued his way into the kingdom.

“M-my lord. If I may ask,” the guard captain tried to call out.

Grimzon stopped and the air felt heavy.

The guard captain gulped. He didn’t make a mistake did he? Most nobles would say ‘how dare you speak to me’ if they were called out like that.

“You may speak.”

“What happened to the knights from the other cities?” The guard captain asked. He might seem like he was concerned but he wasn’t. He just wanted to know. As far as he knew, those ‘knights’ were just greedy tax collectors. They abused their position and demanded outrageous things from the citizens.

“I am a man of my word. Those that opposed me were reduced to nothing but dust. I have not harmed the civilians who would bow their heads.”

“T-thank you, my lord.” The guard captain lowered his head once again. He can still live to see his family.

“You all should be,” Grimzon smugly proclaimed. He was thinking how stupid it would be to just wipe everyone out. How can he take over the kingdom if he didn’t have subjects to serve him? In his mind, the castle is only as good as the people that maintain it.

It seems that his proclamation was loud enough for most of the citizens to hear. As he swaggered onto the main street, the people lowered their heads. It was mainly out of fear. After all, there was nothing they could do against a powerful grand sorcerer.

“Yes. This is how it should be after all.” He felt good. And they should feel honored to serve him.

So he weaved a simple spell. With every step, a wave of magic emanated from him. A super basic (according to him) series of spells that would invigorate people. His goal was to make people understand that serving him was an honor. What he did not intend was how each healing wave was actually curing the citizens of their health issues.

The protagonist has been personally given a Super Important Mission™ by a goddess.

Ah. I wonder if I was at least a little bit useful.

I wasn’t a fighter or anything. I’m just your regular office worker.

But I really couldn’t leave it alone. So when I tried to help someone being assaulted, I ended up getting stabbed. The pavement feels cold. I could hear people all around me. A siren as well. But it’s too late. I can already feel everything going cold.

“Welcome back,” a voice spoke to me.

I opened my eyes and found myself face to face with a woman. The space around us was filled with nothingness.

“How was it?” She asked.

“Horrible.” Memories started to flood my head. I remember now. I lived several kinds of lives back on ‘Earth’. It was for the sole purpose of learning.

From the rich, to the poor. Within groups of the innocent, to the underground lawlessness. I was a genius at one point, and the next I was an insane zealot.

“Then… my offer?”

I looked at her, her radiant beauty still left me breathless. How many times have we met like this? I pondered.

“You can be greedy. You can be selfish.” She wrapped her arms around me. “You can have desires. I will grant them all.”

I gulped. This has also happened before. Each time, I adamantly refused. But recently, I’ve been wavering. I've grown to hate humanity. Or at least, the current system that kept the majority to suffer while a small few prospered. I was trying to justify my 'betrayal' of humanity.

“You,” I finally said. “What if I want you?”

“Then I shall be yours. Will you accept me?”

“Y… yes. I’ll accept.”

She smiled. That sent a shiver down my spine. Yet, I don’t feel fear but a rush of excitement.

“You can start tomorrow. I’m sure you want to enjoy the rest of the night, my administrator.”

Yes. I’ll be enjoying tonight to its fullest.

Tomorrow, the humans of Earth will be integrated into the system. Towers and gates will appear. The age of players and hunters shall begin.

Now I'm tempted to write a bit about the Queen when the villain took over. Lol.

Give me a while. I have a seminar to go to this morning. 😅

“We’re in what?” My voice echoed across the room.

“We’re in debt, my liege,” the man said despite his shaking. He was probably afraid of me. Just being in my presence is enough to send anyone into despair. After all, with their heroes slain in front of their eyes, there was no hope of going against me.

“Did the previous king not have entire warehouses of gold and jewelry?”

“Yes, my liege.”

“Why don’t you use those?”

“Ah… those were personal treasures so we really couldn’t—”

“Well, I don’t really couldn’t give a shit, can I?” I said and shook my head. That bastard spent the kingdom’s money for his own treasures. “Are they enough to pay off the debt?”

“Certainly, my liege.”

“Then make it so,” I grumbled and looked over the documents. “The tax is too damn high… and skewed. Lower the tax to 20% until the people can recover.”

The fight with the kingdom’s heroes did take a toll in some parts of the land. Some construction was being done in those places.

“And apply that to the nobles as well. If anyone wishes to complain about it,” I paused and snapped my fingers. A summoning circle appeared behind the official and a headless armor was summoned. Black flames emanated from it. It was very intimidating.

I smirked and continued, “they can tell it to this instead. Bring it with you.”

“Yes, my liege.” The man bowed and walked away. The living black flame armor followed suit.

‘Oh, thank goodness,” the official thought. ‘This summoned knight was as strong as the sword saint. There’s no way the nobles would disagree. Then again, most of the corrupt ones have been executed.’

“General,” I turned to the former captain of the knights. I killed off all the generals when they opposed me. He was the only one left. He was quite capable too. “Any news of the empire?”

“None, my lord. They are afraid of your power.”

“As they should.” Indeed. That made me feel great. The general was nervous but that was expected. It is impressive he can stand in my presence.

‘The empire actually wanted to send support to rid the kingdom of the evil sorcerer. But thankfully, my men and I were able to convince them otherwise. We’ll just keep feeding them false information. Soon, the kingdom will recover,’ the General thought.

A herald announced the arrival of an envoy from the Theocracy. Another one of the world's powers.

“Ho? Have you come to negotiate my surrender or charge me for my crimes?”

“My lord, we wish to offer you an allegiance,” the envoy knelt and bowed.

“An allegiance? AN ALLEGIANCE?!” I howled. The air became heavy and people felt as if a blade was placed on their necks.

“I-I shall correct myself. The Theocracy will serve under the kingdom.”

“That’s more like it. Now, leave.” I stopped and thought for a bit. “Ah, take this and go. A bit of a reward for knowing your place.”

One of the servants brought a staff. I really didn’t need it. It was a trash staff and the materials were subpar.

“Thank you for your mercy,” the envoy took it and left. ‘The Saint Staff! After all these years, we finally recover it from the clutches of that bastard king. Does he not know its value? No, it simply is not worth his time.’

“My liege, the offerings have arrived.” A servant announced.

“Good, have them prepared and sent to my chambers.”

I smirked as I sat upon the throne that I took for himself. Beside me, the queen shivered from those words.

“Don’t worry,” I cackled. “You’re still my favorite.”

‘What a relief,’ she thought. ‘I thought he was going to throw me away. I thought my days were numbered. I was at the age where my husband would look for a younger wife. I would have probably been executed under false charges.’

“This is definitely it. All the power, the riches, and the women. People serve me lest they lose their heads. Ah, this is all worth it.”

The servant heaved a sigh. ‘The previous king would have killed me for speaking without permission. May those nobles' daughters forgive me for calling them offerings. Then again, they are after his bloodline and powerful magic...’

There was nothing they could do. I will keep ruling over this place. This kingdom is mine. I made sure to implement some things to deal with the aftermath of the battle. Reparations to the affected locations. Of course, I need to make sure that the citizens working would be paid and fed.

Man, did I really do all this damage? This kingdom was barely standing. Well, whatever. I already prepared for the worst case. I even had a plan if I ended up razing the kingdom to the ground. The people made way for me quite easily. There was barely any resistance.

There were the heroes, some knight squadrons, the king, and some nobles. But aside that, it was easy to take over.

It’s obviously thanks to my power.

“Prepare for a celebration. In three days, we shall have feasts all over the kingdom. Make sure every citizen is fed well,” I got up, grinning at how I’ll show them my power. They will fear and cower under me. “Yes, yes, a couple of dragons should be enough for that. General, prepare some butchers. I will be returning tonight after my hunt.”

“Y-yes, my lord.”

‘Did he just say he was going to hunt dragons?’ FOR FOOD?!' The general, the queen, and every servant in the room thought.

I was certain I had died.

I saw my life flash before my eyes. Or maybe that was just the oncoming truck.

Well, things happened. I eventually came across this traveling merchant and her lovely daughter. Nothing too big, but they gave me a ride to the nearest city.

I was able to understand the words. I could read, and even write the language. At first, I thought that this was just some place on Earth. I don’t recall any kingdom called Marien though.

The pair suggested that I go and register myself as an adventurer. I figured I might as well. It’s not like I can do anything about it. If this wasn’t Earth, then I have no idea how to get back.

As I walked to the guild, I noticed a lot of other…non-humans. This was definitely not Earth. Unless it was an elaborate event for roleplaying, or a prank.

There were elves, some draconic humanoids, and even those with more than two legs.

I went ahead and registered at the guild. They tested out my magic power, which had me worried.

But that went out the window when I was told I had a lot of magic power. I had a huge potential for magic.

After that was a combat test.

I admit, I don’t have any combat experience. I was living a peaceful life. I get by from paycheck to paycheck.

But my body seemed to move better than I had thought. My reactions were better. My movements were more agile.

I was a promising young adventurer, huh? Even my body seemed to have gotten younger.

As I was looking for a quest, I was approached by a lovely young woman. She started calling me the promising rookie and taught me all sorts of things. From edible herbs, to picking the right quests.

As that lesson went on, several people entered the guild. There were those in uniform armor, led by a woman wearing a white habit. As much as the garment seemed holy, her curves were still quite visible. If anything, they were accentuated.

They approached me, almost immediately, and bowed.

They called me an otherworlder. With that, the whole guild clamored. Some said it makes sense. Others were very excited. Some said it was the birth of a new hero.

I see. So this was the norm here.

To help me with my growth and potential, the Saintess (as she introduced herself) joined my party.

I was requested to come with them to visit the King. I couldn’t really refuse. It felt like such an honor.

There, I met the princess. Lovely as she was, her skill with the blade and fire magic was not to be trifled with. She, too, joined my group. She offered to teach me all she can. They also called in the court magician. At first, they were worried when she introduced herself. She had a huge single eye. They said some otherworlders would not welcome other demihumans.

I said that I really don’t mind. She, too, wanted to impart her knowledge of magic.

As if by perfect timing, there was an envoy from the elven kingdom. Word traveled fast, apparently. The guilds have a network system so my existence was already known.

It might be stereotypical of me, but I assumed elves were great at archery. That held true. And I was even shown a sample of what spirit magic was like.

That day, a celebration was held. A feast that lasted well into the night.

Well, and more so beyond that. My delusions had me thinking about it, but I didn’t know it was actually going to happen. I had several night visits.

As I wondered what tomorrow would bring, my body felt heavy. I figured I was tired from it all. The dancing and cheering, the eating and drinking, and everything else that came after. I closed my eyes as my senses faded to black.

—

“It seems we are too late,” a figure from afar watched the ‘Marien Kingdom’. It was not some grand kingdom bustling with people. What they saw was a mass of writhing tentacles that encompassed a huge area of land.

“A shame,” their companion shook their head. “It was unfortunate that they arrived within the Marien’s territory.”

They had detected a huge surge of magic. That normally meant that an otherworlder would be arriving in this world. But, the location was a very unfortunate one.

“If we had gotten to them first, maybe we could have saved them.”

“Unfortunate,” a sigh escaped their lips. “But at least they may have bought us some time. With that amount of magic power, the Marien would be satiated well. It would be at least 10 years before that man would be completely digested.”

“Then, let us make the most of the next decade.”

His eyes widened when he heard his alarm blaring. His phone was placed near his head.

Dangerous.

Immediately, he rolled out of the bed. Within seconds, the phone battery exploded, scattering shards of the device.

Wide awake, he looked around frantically. His senses were honed after going through this every single day. He rolled to the as the shards somehow nudged the bowling ball on his shelf. It missed him by the ear.

The bowling ball was probably placed there by one of his parents.

Of course.

Taking a bath was problematic. He had to check that there were no exposed wires from the shower heater. He had to remove the shower curtains as the bar was unstable. Ah, yes, an unfortunate slip would be disastrous.

As he was wiping his face, he sensed a chill down his spine. He immediately placed his towel between himself and the mirror. At that moment, the mirror slid down the sink and shattered. Glass shards shot towards him but the towel caught it.

He couldn’t even relax while getting dressed. His pants legs would keep trying to get caught with each other. An attempt to make him stumble. He also had to jump back when getting his shirt because the cabinet collapsed. Again.

At breakfast, his parents looked at him eagerly as he ate. He groaned.

“Damn, poison immunity,” his dad exclaimed.

“Curses aren’t working either,” his mom sighed.

That’s right. His parents were both heroes from another world. Well, partially. His dad got transported to another world. As a hero, his dad saved that world and married his mom. And now they returned to Earth.

“Can you two stop trying to send me there already?!”

“My, my. It can’t be helped. The goddess is requesting help,” his mom said with a lovely smile. If only they haven’t been trying to kill him “accidentally” since his coming of age. For some reason, it had to be by accident. His heroic abilities have been growing because of it but it was still a hassle.

“Whatever, I’m going.” He rushed to head out as soon as he finished. Immediately, he got hit by a speeding truck, even though it made no sense.

At least, it would if he hadn’t seen that occur several times. Of course, he unlocked some skills already, so the truck hit a wooden dummy instead. He already appeared right across the street.

He turned the corner, and a woman was screaming about her bag being snatched.

A dodge to the right because, of course, the culprit had a knife. And they thought of stabbing the next person in their way. A leg out to make them stumble, and a swift chop to the back of their neck.

“This would be so cool if they stop trying to kill me,” he sighed and stepped to the right. Of course, someone accidentally dropped their really heavy plant pot.

On the next street, he had to dodge a drunk driver. Yes, this early in the morning. Then avoid the falling pole from the crash. And then roll out of the way of the live wires that would have precisely landed on him.

Another normal day.

“Finally… my life’s work!” He exclaimed as the magic circle in front of him showed promise. The mana from the surroundings was continuously being drained into it.

Zircon, the greatest sage of this era. One of the heroes that ushered in a time of peace. He racked up a lot of achievements during the war with the demons. He spent all the money he earned to continue his research.

He reached the peak of all sorts of magic, save for one.

Right now, he was on the verge of fulfilling that goal.

“By my decree, come forth—?”

The flow of mana suddenly became unstable.

“Tch.” He bit his lip. The spell required copious amounts of mana. He had theorized his mastery over other kinds of magic would fix this issue. Elemental magic to simulate the natural flow of mana. Gravitational magic to create a focal point. Space magic to outsource that mana elsewhere. Time magic to inject precise amounts of mana at specific points.

Still, it was probably the unnatural kind of mana that was making it unstable. He had no choice. The amount of mana needed was absurd.

Well, he did. That would be to sacrifice other living beings. But he would never resort to that. For what did he fight for if he resorted to that?

The flow of mana reversed. The best thing he could do is to contain the explosion. No, it was an implosion.

“Well, shit—”

That day, the great sage Zircon disappeared without a trace.

-----------------

“I’m alive?” His vision started to clear. Sound slowly started to return to his ears. It was loud. There were a lot of people talking. Some weird beeping noises.

He turned around to see a vehicle. Odd design. A horseless carriage was not uncommon. Magic cores became easy to come by. Behind that vehicle were more of the same kind. He almost thought they were a swarm but people could be seen inside them. They were making beeping noises in his direction.

“Out of the way, pervert!” One yelled.

“Pervert?” He turned around to see this so-called pervert. Instead he saw some strangely dressed people talking amongst themselves. One of them was talking to someone who seemed like an authoritative figure. They were pointing at him too.

That man took out a strange device from his pocket and pointed it at him. “Freeze, pervert!”

“Pervert? Me?”

He only needed to look down to confirm. True enough, he was naked. But that wasn’t the bigger issue. He expected some flabby old legs when he looked. But for some reason, his legs seem more youthful. More…spry?

The man pressed a button on the device he was holding. Nothing happened. It was then that he took out a larger box-like contraption and started talking to it.

“We have an untagged individual. Requesting backup. I repeat, we have an untagged individual.”

“I should get dressed,” Zircon nodded to himself. With a snap of his fingers, a small void appeared.

Good. His inventory still worked. There was barely anything in it, though. He used most of his things for the experiment. There were some decent clothes at least. They moved on their own, sliding out of the void and wrapping around him.

Seeing what he did made the man panic. “A nano-user! Calling all units! It’s a nano-user.”

Hearing that, someone screamed and panicked. People started to run away.

Within the mayhem, someone approached him and tried to pull him by the wrist. “This way!” From their voice, they sounded female. Highly likely younger than him> He was an old man, after all.

“Freeze!” Noticing that, the man shouted. “I said freeze!”

They pressed a button. This time, they were targeted at the girl. Immediately, an electric current ran through the girl’s body. She fell over and started to convulse.

“Put your hands up!” The man shouted as Zircon tried to help the girl.

“She’s going to die at this rate,” he muttered to himself. The current ran through his wrist as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

“I said—”

“Shut up,” Zircon cut him off. The electricity flowed through his arm. It ran through his body and going through to his extended hand. Like a bolt of lightning, it shot at the man and knocked him off his feet. It wasn’t lethal, only enough to paralyze them for a few seconds.

“That’s how you use lightning to incapacitate,” he muttered and looked around at the chaos and mayhem. A place he was very unfamiliar with.

“What… or where the hell did I get myself into?”

------------------

[Basically people have a tag on them that marks them as property. And that means you can be identified immediately. And you can have devices that can mess with those tags. Abuse of power is not uncommon and terrorist groups wanting to be free from being 'tagged' try and fight the system. Had to figure out how to get the protag in that world though, among other things to make them stand out.]

If three people involved is a threesome then I'm handsome.