“Yo, Atsuku. I am here!”

“Atsuku! Here, here! Come here!”

Yamada raised his hand casually as Rio waved her hand excitedly when Atsuku approached them.

They were in the middle of a field near Atsuku’s apartment. As for the reason why they were here, it was because Atsuku called them after Gaia dropped the bomb.

Talking about the girl, she stayed behind at Atsuku’s apartment because she couldn’t interfere with anything. Useless informant, as Atsuku described her.

Atsuku, who was approaching the siblings, wore casual clothes that were easy to move in and a black coat to hide in the darkness of the night. The area around his left chest was bulging. It was the weapon he had brought from home.

Seeing the siblings that arrived without any context, Atsuku smiled at them. They were truly good friends. A loyal one that would come with just a sudden notice.

“Yo! Thanks for coming so suddenly.” He said, bumping his fist with Yamada. Rio came to his side, clinging to his arm like usual.

“Of course, you called me after all. So, who do we need to destroy tonight? You asked me to bring my baby with me. Surely someone offended you, no?” Yamada grinned excitedly as he patted his coat. 

He was dressed similarly to Atsuku, with a white shirt, black pants, and a long black coat. He looked like a thug.

No, calling him similar was an understatement. After all, Yamada’s father was a cartel leader. That was where he and Atsuku got their weapons hidden beneath their coats.

On the other hand, Rio wore black pants and a sexy white tank top underneath a black jacket. Her navel and cleavage were exposed, but she didn’t attempt to hide them from Atsuku. She even pressed her large breasts against Atsuku’s arm when she clung to him.

“No, Yamada. No one offended me.” Atsuku shook his head.

“Then, why did you call us? Could it be that you miss me? Hey, Atsuku, tell me that you miss me.” Rio said excitedly from the side; her eyes were shining dangerously.

‘Ah, how foolish of me. How did I not realize it? This girl… Rio is a yandere, no? I saw a lot of girls like her in Fantasia. Well, I don’t really care. She will be useful for me, as a yandere won’t betray someone they loved.’

Someone like her was around in Fantasia. Hell, Atsuku was chased after a few girls like her when he was in Fantasia. But, all of them were loyal, so he quite liked this kind of girl. Useful and loyal. Those two requirements were what Atsuku sought from people around him. A bad habit from the time in Fantasia.

“I am. But, there is a more pressing matter. Did you guys realize something different from me in the past two days? More specifically, the past week.” Atsuku said.

To gain trust, there should be no secret. But that didn’t mean he would tell them all his secrets. He would only tell them a part of it. He also cherished his friends, so a part of him wanted to tell them this secret of his for the last week.

However, there was no chance. He would be treated like a joke if he told them that he had just returned from his own novel so suddenly. That was why this chance where the countdown would appear on Earth was the best time to tell the siblings, his loyal friends, that he had just returned from his own novel world.

“Hmm, come to think of it…” Rio was the one who replied first. She released Atsuku’s arm and touched her chin, tilting her head a little. “You have become more mature and cool after I didn’t see you for a week!” She exclaimed with a big smile.

“That’s right. You are… darker than usual? I thought it might be related to your mood because you just wrote a new novel. But am I wrong?” Yamada asked.

“You’re not wrong, but… let me explain it in a simple way. I hope you believe me. Because what I am about to tell you is absurd.” Atsuku said seriously as he put his hands in his coat’s pocket.

Yamada and Rio looked at each other for a second before nodding and turning to Atsuku.

“I will try to believe your story no matter how absurd it is.”

“Then…”

Atsuku began to tell them the story about his adventure in Fantasia, the simple version of it. How he lived for 20 years in that world, and how he returned to Earth. He didn’t go into detail and left some parts vague when Yamada asked him whether he killed people.

While the blonde boy didn’t really care as his own world was bloody and understood that Atsuku's world was similar to theirs, he only asked to confirm it. Atsuku’s bitter smile was enough of an answer.

Rio started to cry when she heard about Atsuku’s hard adventure and that he was the only survivor in Fantasia.

“It must be hard, Atsuku…” She sobbed, wiping her tears with her hand.

“That was absurd, alright. Hahaha, you did a good job surviving, my pal.” Yamada let out a wry laugh, believing Atsuku’s story. “So your new novel is about your adventure? I read your web novel version, but… hell. That was rough.”

“Hahaha, well, yeah. Now the important part. You know the countdown in Fantasia’s sky, no? Especially the first one.” Atsuku asked, to which the sibling replied with a nod. Rio had recovered and stopped crying; she was a strong girl.

“Yeah. When the countdown appears, that means there is a Trial somewhere, right? And if I am not wrong, the first one is the most important because the first trial will give you power. This will be the most important thing to survive and determine how strong you can be in the future.”

Yamada answered with the explanation that he read from Atsuku’s first novel.

Atsuku nodded with a smile. Thankfully, Yamada still remembered the explanation about the first trial of the countdown.

“That’s right. The reason why I call you here is because of that. The voice of the world told me the countdown will appear on Earth.”

“Huh?” Rio let out a surprised voice.

Yamada’s eyes widened a little as he lowered his hands, “No fucking way?” He cursed. “When?”

That question was the same as what Atsuku asked Gaia. Without answering, Atsuku looked at the sky, devoid of stars due to light pollution in Japan. However, the moon was bright. He counted down internally, and when he reached zero in his own countdown, he said.

“Right now.”

Crash!

At that moment, a loud sound of breaking glass resounded all over the world. The sky cracked, and a mysterious number appeared in the sky. The number showed 2:00:00, and then it decreased to 1:59:59 the next moment.

Yamada and Rio covered their ears as they looked up.

“Hey, fucker! Tell us about it earlier, bastard!” Yamada shouted loudly with all his might as his expression turned grim.

“Blame Gaia for that. She just told me about it an hour ago!” Atsuku shouted back. Unconsciously, his lips curled up into a mad grin as he saw shadows appear from the crack in the sky.

Those shadows varied in size and shape, but all of them were black and had horns on their heads. Some had one horn, some had two horns. There were even a few shadows who had more than 3 horns.

“So that’s the first trial? Dude, recommend me the one that will suit me. Make me a melee tank!” Yamada pleaded, extending his hand toward Atsuku.

“Me too, Atsuku! I want to be a sorcerer! Shooting Magic seems fun!” Rio continued, putting her hand on top of Yamada.

“Sure! That’s why I called you guys here. Now then… Let’s catch some Devils”