Divine Realm of Another World
A swarm of mechanical dragons—small in comparison to the colossal super-dragon with wings spanning several kilometers—were circling in formation.
Numbering in the thousands and continuously increasing, these dragons emitted crackling black and red electricity.
As these electromagnetic-charged dragons moved in their orbit, the surrounding space began to distort.
At the center of the formation, a warped vortex appeared.
Then, the super mechanical dragon known as Icarus extended cable-like plugins from its body and directly plugged them into the vortex's surface, which had twisted to the point of appearing like shattering glass.
With a thunderous roar from the dragon, streams of plasma that looked like they could burn through space like molten glass traveled through the cables into the vortex.
Soon, the vortex's surface began to melt into a liquid state and evaporate—just like glass under extreme heat.
A black hole-like dimensional gate was being opened.
"Rostar, curse you… Rostar…"
"Kill, kill, kill! I'm in such pain… come and join me in hell, Rostar!"
"This is our hatred—our vengeance upon you… So, Rostar Ignatius, we'll never let you go!"
From the surface of the super dragon, countless unwilling and tormented souls—twisted and hideous, howled and cursed in a sticky darkness.
"What immense hatred and evil…"
"Even if we gather all the gods of the Divine Realm to purify it, without rest or sleep, it might take a thousand years."
"The worst part is, if we're even slightly contaminated by it, we might fall to darkness ourselves."
"Even from this distance, that dreadful aura makes my skin crawl."
"Rostar Ignatius… the ancient Demon King?"
"Demon King? Can that even be called a Demon King? That's more like a Demon God or an Evil Deity. That guy corrupted countless ancient gods with evil. A being lost to history, yet still leaving behind such terrifying remnants…"
These fearful murmurs came from the distant gods who dared not approach the monstrous being.
A previous attempt to obstruct it had resulted in a bombardment of dark energy blasts from corrupted evil dragons and fallen angels.
The explosion nearly knocked a part of the Divine Realm into the material world, causing destruction equivalent to lunar fragments crashing into the Earth.
Inner World – Earth
At this moment, the entire planet seemed shrouded in darkness. The sky was covered with dark gray clouds.
The world's leading powers—Hero Academy (first-ranked) and Savior Academy (second-ranked)—were on full alert and ready to respond.
"Coordinates... Area B, current spatial stability index is normal."
"Coordinates... Area F-1, spatial stability deviation at -7%."
"Area F-1 now under Level C surveillance."
Although the dimensional breach would enter the inner world, the exact location remained uncertain—so global monitoring was underway.
"Maintain surveillance on all inter-world portals! No disruptions allowed during this critical time!"
"Also monitor all the races residing in this world!"
Though this was the stronghold of heroes, it wasn't exclusively theirs.
Ordinary people lived here too, as well as various beings from other worlds—elves, beastkin, and others who had migrated with their families.
Of course, they had to be extra cautious of groups recognized internationally as terrorist organizations.
These groups sought to eliminate the barrier between the inner and outer worlds—aiming not only to dominate the inner world but also to conquer the outer world, even challenging the authority of its gods.
Now you might ask—why don't the gods of the outer world help out here?
Well, this is due to the laws and rules established by the alliance of gods across countless worlds. Gods cannot casually interfere in this world.
In fact, this world is considered a forbidden zone for deities.
Hero Academy – Secret Meeting Room
A man sat alone, respectfully facing a few hazy projections whose true forms were indistinguishable.
"Then we'll be counting on you, Kyouka—this is a prime opportunity for us to set foot in the outer world and bring it under our organization, Kekun's, control."
It was likely that similar secret discussions were happening among various other powers as well.
Rewind a bit – A High-Class Apartment in Chiba City
Room 1507.
"Alright, stop spacing out. The bathroom's this way."
"Ah? Oh, right—thank you so much!"
Responding to the cold voice of the apartment's resident, Yuigahama Yui spoke nervously, stuttering slightly. She never imagined she'd end up in the home of the seemingly perfect school beauty—Yukinoshita Yukino.
So how did she end up here?
Simple. She had followed Yazuki after being picked up by Teacher Hiratsuka, and then they were all taken here together—for ramen?
Not directly to Yazuki's place though. First, they stopped by a supermarket to buy all the ingredients needed for ramen.
Turns out, Yazuki is really good at making ramen, and Teacher Hiratsuka, who had once tasted it, had been yearning for it ever since—though Yazuki kept refusing because he found it bothersome.
Because Yuigahama helped carry the groceries and the rain was pouring, she inevitably got soaked.
So, Teacher Hiratsuka brought her not to Yazuki's place—but to Yukinoshita's home, which was right across from Yazuki's, to shower and change into something dry.
Yuigahama was beyond surprised—she couldn't believe that these two students, whose reputations were polar opposites, lived in the same high-rise building—and right across from each other!
Her imagination ran wild… Did they have some kind of hidden relationship?
After finishing her shower and stepping out, Yuigahama saw Yukinoshita with a soft, rarely-seen smile, feeding something.
Getting closer, she saw it—a beautiful, snow-white bundle of cuteness.
"Is… is that a cat?"
Yuigahama couldn't believe her eyes. If it wasn't actively eating, she would've assumed it was a hyper-realistic plush toy—like some kind of magical cat spirit from another world.
"So cute!"
"Mhm. Yukinoshita-san, what breed is it? Must be expensive, right?"
This wasn't a regular cat. It had to be one of the rarest breeds on Earth—something only someone from a wealthy background could afford.
Judging by Yukinoshita's high-end residence, she was clearly a rich young lady.
"I don't know. No idea where that guy found it—"
"That guy?"
"Wanna pet it?"
A sudden change of topic—clearly avoiding the question.
That only made Yuigahama even more curious about that guy. When Yukinoshita said it, she even glanced outside… toward Yazuki's apartment?
Oooh, there's definitely a story here. But since Yukinoshita didn't want to explain, Yuigahama wasn't the type to pry.
"C-can I?"
"Mhm."
And so, the two girls spent a peaceful moment petting the adorable cat.
Meanwhile, across the hall, a certain someone was sweating buckets, busy in the kitchen—especially thanks to a certain teacher, whose actions almost made him lose his composure.