1 Chapter 1: Awakening from Failure

Altro Mondo, a world where different races live together but apart. On this fragmented land of various cultures and societies, there is a being intent on unifying everyone and not through peaceful means. The one known as the Demon Lord, who commands many races of monsters such as vampires, orcs, demons and others, waged war for absolute domination.

The humans, who outnumber the other races but were inferior in strength, prayed to their god for salvation. The answer they received was in the form of a human girl blessed with Holy powers, and as such, she was dubbed the Saint. She was able to share her holy powers with other humans as the means to fight back against the Demon Lord's army.

The elven race, a neutral and passive race adverse to hostility, joined the humans in their war. This was due to the threat the Demon Lord's army poses if they win. But even as the elves joined the fray, they and the humans were at a disadvantage in strength.

As the war was nearing its conclusion, the Demon Lord was able to corner the humans and their allies in their last standing fortress.

"You made a valiant effort in fighting back, Humans. Especially you, Saint."

The Demon Lord was hovering above the damaged walls and ceiling of the fortress. He was looking down at the pitiful creatures he was about to destroy. He raised his right hand and started to collect magic in the form of a giant ball of energy.

"Standing up to me was futile, in the end. You shouldn't have made things difficult for yourselves. You should have just let yourselves be conquered."

"It was not for nothing! Others will stand up to you and next time you—"

The Saint shouted with all her might, carrying the hopes and despair of everyone who was with her at that moment. Her allies stood closely with each other. Others held each other's' hands while some cowered in fear.

"There will be no next time!"

As the Demon Lord prepared to eliminate his enemies in one fell swoop, a giant explosion eradicated the whole fortress. All that was present at that moment, including the Demon Lord and his army, the Saint and her various allies, were covered in a dome of light and vanished without a trace.

---

(I have a lot of time to spare, no need to rush.)

The teenage boy was fixing his uniform in front of the mirror as he talked to himself. He was convincing himself even though he woke up late that morning.

He had short, unkempt, greyish hair, which in their family was the predominant shade of hair. It was the first day of his second year in high school.

"Onii-chan! You'll be late if you don't eat your breakfast now."

A girl was shouting from downstairs, which he heard through the door. He shouted back.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a sec!"

He made one last check in front of the mirror and then got his bag and went outside his room. He went down the stairs and headed straight to the dining table. He sat down and looked around.

"Dad's not around already?"

He stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth and took a bite from the sausage that was in his plate.

"Oh, he had a meeting early today. Being a local politician makes him a busy man. But his work is important for the people in this city."

His mom, a woman in her early 40's, with 2 teenage kids but still had a figure women would be envious of and long silvery hair, answered without looking at him while washing dishes.

"I see. Well, as long as he comes home, then I guess it's okay."

He said in a disinterested manner.

"As I said, you'll be late if you eat slowly."

His sister, sitting in front of him across the table, was in her uniform. She had her silvery hair cut in a bob.

"Yeah, yeah. How about you? Why are you still here?"

"My school is nearer than yours."

"Why didn't I go to your school, Yuurei?"

"You didn't want to graduate from the same school as dad, remember?"

He didn't reply and remained silent for a bit. His mother, still without facing them, started to talk.

"Better hurry up then, Akuma. You'll really be late."

Her tone was filled with concern yet still stern. He then seemed to snap out of a trance.

"Oh, yeah. Well, see you guys later. I'll be going now."

Akuma grabbed his bag and hurriedly went to the front door and put on his shoes. When he got out of the house and exited the gate, he started to look up at the sky, wondering if not going to the school his father graduated from was the right decision. Then he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"I didn't want to end up like him, so this is for the best."

Akuma then looked at his watch and realized he was really cutting it close. He started to sprint towards his school. He was going through a shortcut that very few people use. As he was in a good running pace, he heard a deafening sound, like a whistle that was blowing right next to his ears. He was near the exit of the alley he used as a shortcut before he fell down on the ground and lost consciousness. There was no one around to see what happened to him at that time.

---

After a while, he slowly regained consciousness. He started to sit down at first, then looked at his hand and muttered to himself.

"Where… am I?"

He looked around, and everything seemed familiar yet very different. Then, suddenly remembering something, he quickly stood up.

"This is the end for you!"

He raised his hands and shouted. Some of the few people who were now passing by looked at him confusedly, but then shrugged and moved along.

"Huh?"

He looked around.

"This isn't the fortress… Where are the Saint and her allies?"

-------

Hi! please check my artworks in instagram bit.ly/netrics07_artworks

Character designs for this story are uploaded there. hope you check it out :)