Location: Somewhere in Europe.
Date: 21th of June, 2591.
On the surface of a broken mirror cold blue eyes stared back at me.
Numerous explosions could be heard outside the thin walls. I was tired.
Far too tired to care anymore.
And yet something unknown still compelled my prepubescent body to move, to survive.
I filled my lungs with a deep breath.
It was the moment of the truth. The moment to live. The moment to die.
Hachiman who'd covered his eyes to protect them from the bright lights realized immediately that he was no longer in his classroom. There weren't many things that fazed him anymore but his surrounding gave him a run for his money.
His eyes registered a massive mural. The mural, which stretched ten meters long, depicted a faintly smiling figure, whose gender seemed indeterminable, wreathed in a halo, blond hair flowing freely behind the figure. The figure had both arms spread wide as if trying to grab hold of all of it. It was a truly beautiful, awe-inspiring work of art. But Hachiman could feel something wrong within the image, so he quickly averted his eyes.
As he examined the rest of his surroundings, he quickly realized that he was in a vast chamber. The entire room was constructed of a gleaming white stone that seemed smooth to the touch. Marble, possibly. Massive pillars with sculptures carved into them rose up to the towering domed ceiling. The room resembled some sort of grand cathedral.
They stood upon a plinth located in the deepest recesses of the room. They were raised above their immediate surroundings. Everyone looked dumbfounded. It looks like whatever happened had affected the entire class.
Turning his gaze to the crowd of people surrounding him, he found a multitude of men near them.
Indeed, Hachiman and his classmates weren't the only occupants of the room. Around thirty or so people were standing before the plinth Hachiman and the others were on. It looked as if they were all praying, their hands crossed above their chests.
They were all clad in white robes decorated with golden embroidery. At their sides were something resembling a bishop's stave. The tips of their staves opened up into a fan shape, and instead of rings, several flat discs hung from the ends.
Eventually, one of the priests stepped forward. He was an old man in his seventies, dressed even more lavishly than his peers, with a richly decorated monk's cap that stood about thirty centimeters tall.
Old was perhaps not the best word to describe him. If not for his deeply wrinkled face and aged eyes, one might think him a man in his early fifties.
His staff jingled as he walked, clear soothing notes reverberating throughout the halls all the while. Finally, he opened his mouth and said,
"Welcome to Tortus brave hero, and his companions. It is our pleasure to welcome you here. I am the pope of the Holy Church, Ishtar Langbard. It is an honor to make your acquaintances." The old man, who called himself Ishtar, broke into a good-natured smile. He then led the still confused group of students into another room that was furnished with numerous chairs and long tables, saying it would be easier to speak calmly there.
The new room he'd guided the students to was just as lavishly built as the first. The exemplary craftmanship of the furniture and the tapestries hanging on the walls was evident even to the student's untrained eyes. The layout of the room implied that it was some manner of banquet hall. Hayama's group claimed seats at the head of the table. Hachiman ended up at the very end of the table with the nerds.
The reason no one had made a fuss so far was because everyone was still too busy processing what had just happened. Besides, Ishtar had just said he would explain what had happened and Hayama, with his max-level charisma, had managed to calm everyone down. Aiko-sensei had tears in her eyes as she watched a student do what should have been the teacher's job.
The moment everyone had finished seating themselves, a number of carts entered the room, pushed along by a retinue of maids. "Real victorian maids!" exclaimed someone. They were indeed plump maids that could still be found in various European countries. "Bona-fide maids, the kind every man dreams of meeting!" continued the overexcited nerd.
Even in such an incomprehensible situation, their insatiable curiosity and libido drove most of the boys to gaze longingly at the beautiful maids. When the girls saw how they melted over the maids, they glared at the boys in a manner cold enough to freeze hell itself.
Hachiman, however, wondered if pheromones was going to be a problem in the future. There were far too many unknown things.
Ishtar finally began talking once everyone had been served their refreshments.
"Now then, I am certain you all must be feeling very confused about the situation you've found yourselves in. I shall explain everything, starting from the beginning. All I ask is that you hear me out until the end." Ishtar's explanation was so generic and unreasonable that it seemed as if it'd come out of a fantasy book template.
In short, this was what he said- First, that this world was called Tortus. Within Tortus lived three different races, humans, demons, and demi-humans. Humans resided in the northern half of the continent, demons on the southern half, and demi-humans far to the east within a massive forest.
Humans and demons had a strained relationship, having been at war for centuries. Though demons lacked the sheer numbers humans possessed, their individual strength far surpassed most humans, balancing the scale. Both sides were currently in a stalemate, and a major battle hadn't broken out in decades. However, there had been disturbing movements among the demons as of late. Namely the fact that they had managed to tame monsters.
These monsters were supposedly wild animals that had undergone a magical metamorphosis after having mana poured into them. Thought it seemed that humans had yet to fully understand the biology of monsters, so they weren't quite sure. They were apparently very powerful and even capable of using magic, which made them an extremely dangerous threat.
Up until that point, very few people had been able to tame such ferocious beasts. And even those who could were unable to handle more than one or two at a time. However, the situation had changed. Which meant that the only advantage the humans had over the demons, numbers, had been eliminated. As such, humans faced an unprecedented crisis that threatened the existence of their very race.
"The one who summoned you all there was the blessed lord, Ehit. He is the Supreme God who created the world itself. Being the guardian deity of us humans and the one true God of the Holy Church. I suspect that Lord Ehit grew aware of our plight. He realized that humanity was doomed to annihilation, so he summoned you here in order to prevent such a disaster. You heroes are humans from a world greater than ours, and therefore carry within you strength that surpasses the humans of this world."
Ishtar paused for a moment before continuing hesitantly, "Or at least, that is what was shown to me in a divine revelation."
"Regardless, I implore you all to do as Lord Ehit has willed you. Please, defeat the demons and save the human race from destruction." He seemed almost in trance as he said that. Had to have been remembering the time he received the divine revelation. Or very good acting skills. He basically radiated charisma.
"You can't possibly be serious! You're telling these children to go fight a war!? That's absolutely unacceptable! As a teacher, I cannot allow it! Send us back this instant! The kids have families back home who must be worried sick! You can't just kidnap them like this!"
Fatal mistake. We are hostages teacher, we aren't in a position to bargain.
Aiko, the almost twenty-five social studies teacher, was very popular with the kids. She stood only 162 centimeters tall, with a baby face and her hair kept in a neat bob cut. But she tried her best to protect her students. Hachiman could respect that. A fool or not, she did what she thought was right.
"I understand your feelings, however... I am unable to return you to your world at present. As I stated earlier, it is Lord Ehit who summoned you there. The only reason we were in that room at all was to greet you heroes, and to offer our prayers to Lord Ehit. We humans do not possess the power to interfere with other worlds, so whether or not you can return also depends on His will."
"N-No way..."
"You've gotta be kidding me! What do you mean we can't go back!?"
"Please, there must be a way!"
"A war!? Us!?"
While the entire class fell into panic, Hachiman felt that the development wasn't really that bad. There were many worse things that could have happened. Mind fuckery being at the top of his list. Ishtar did not order them to do anything, that meant that mind control was out of the equation for now. It was a silver lining in the deep shit he was right now.
Hayama stood amidst the hysterical group of students and slammed his first onto the table with a bang. That managed to get the attention of most of the kids. Once he had confirmed that everyone's eyes were on him, Hayama began speaking.
"Everyone, there's no point in complaining to Ishtar. There's nothing he can do about it now. And... And I, at least have decided to stand and fight. These people are about to be annihilated. Knowing that, how can we possibly leave them to such a tragic fate? And besides, if we've been summoned here to save humanity, it's possible we'll be allowed to go back once we've saved them... Well, Ishtar-sama? Do you think that's possible?"
It was a good damage control, Hayama had better leadership skills than what Hachiman expected of a normal person.
"It is as you say. Lord Ehit is not so unkind that he would ignore a request from his chosen heroes. Each and every one of you have been granted powers by the Lord Himself. Which will be revealed soon."
"Alright, then we should be fine. I'm going to fight. If we save everyone, then we can go home. We are going to be heroes!" Hayama clenched his fists as he proclaimed while smiling in assurance. The smile didn't reach his eyes. But no other student noticed.
He could have made a good politician. Lying came to him as naturally as breathing. Seeing him in a new light, Hachiman decided that protecting him would be a main priority. Talents needed time and experiences to grow and flourish. Hayama was going to be his ticket to a smooth sail.
Inadvertently, while he was focusing his sight on Hayama, Hachiman did not notice gazes from both within his classmates and some of the maids that were curious about his ability to stay calm throughout the entire time.
Hachiman wasn't what you would call 'calm' though. Adrenaline and excitement had been coursing through his veins ever since he felt a long lost organ back in its place. For the first time in almost two decades, he was complete again.
I wonder if this chapter was purposefully written like this, I swear I've read this development at least three other times from different novels.