1 Chapter 1: Isekai as Heroes?
"Even though I would cry every night if you passed away, I would still be able to work hard throughout the day to get stronger and overcome everything. However, even those would be wasted if you survived, as they would be spent worrying and taking care of you."
Spit!
"Bullshit!"
I spat on her face. I was tired of listening to her nonsense.
Half of what she said had already gone over my head, and the other half just made my desire to kill her and everyone else surge.
However, she didn't even flinch from the saliva on her face.
Even her expressions didn't change.
She just wiped her face with her fingers and licked them clean one by one.
"Don't worry! This is fine. I love every part of you, and since you're my only love, I will definitely find a way to revive you later. I will ask the goddess to bring you back to life after I defeat the demon king."
My mind was getting dizzy, and every word of hers was just making me more and more nauseous.
"You're a crazy b*tch! I will definitely kill you and everyone else, mark my words."
"HeHe Yes! I'm crazy in love with you. But I also have my own goals to achieve. I'm willing to live as a widow for decades and mourn every night in your memory, but I can't let my ambitions and plans for my life pass in vain. I sincerely hope you will forgive me. Please give your life for me, MY LOVE."
She did not wait for my response. Instead, she wrapped her left arm around my neck and pulled me forward before kissing me on the lips.
But my lips and teeth were tightly shut, not allowing her to do what she wanted.
However, that only backfired on me, as she soon pinched me on the waist.
"Ahh!"
And I screamed in pain.
As soon as my lips parted, she bit them firmly and began sucking on them.
After doing whatever she wanted with me for a few minutes—kissing me on the lips, sucking my tongue, and biting me a few more times—she finally stepped back.
A few seconds later, she licked her lips, tasted my blood, and started crying as tears came out of her eyes.
'Why are you crying, you bitch? I swear, if I didn't die today, I would kill you.'
The urge to shout out my thoughts arose, but the pain in my body, the exhaustion from beatings, and my trembling lips soon suppressed my urge.
After Theresa wiped her tears and got herself back into her cold, apathetic appearance, she shouted,
"Guards!"
Two guards in full plate armor came running inside the cell.
"Take him away. I think you must have already received the orders from Pope Jordan."
"Yes, Hero Theresa."
Respectfully bending their heads, they came towards me and started dragging me away, and as soon as I felt someone hit me on the back of my head, my consciousness faded and my mind drifted away in darkness.
* * * * * * *
Few days ago.
Sahara City, Republic of Korea, planet Earth
The sun shone brightly, casting a golden glow on the land below as white, fluffy clouds dotted the azure blue sky.
Under such a sky, on the asphalt paving, wearing his high school uniform, a boy was walking towards the main gates of Sahara Public High School in front of him.
He was Aiden, a 17 year old, young, and handsome boy.
He had hazel blue eyes, sleek black hair, and a toned, healthy body, which was obviously the result of his hard work in the gym.
These features, along with his charming smile, gave him the appearance of being childlike and laid back.
Born into a single parent household, he was always a target of ridicule from others as his father left his mother after she got pregnant with him.
But Aiden never let that stop him from achieving his goals.
Considering how hard his mother worked and how much money came in every month from the rent on the properties she owned, Aiden had a pretty fine upbringing.
He was a clever boy, and because there was no shelter of a father over his head, he matured faster than other children his age.
Creak!
Opening the door, he entered the classroom as everyone's attention shifted to him for a split second.
"Hey!"
Smiling towards the students in his friend circle who greeted him back, he closed the door and proceeded to move towards his seat, which was beside his girlfriend's on the far right corner in the back.
His confidence shone through his strides, yet a hint of vulnerability lingered in his eyes—a vulnerability that he had learned to wear as armor against the difficulties of life.
While sitting, he turned his head to the right and saw the lovely face of a 17-year-old black-haired girl with green emerald eyes and fair skin.
Within a second, he was captivated by her beauty.
She was Theresa Cameron, his girlfriend.
An extremely cute girl known as the epitome of sweetness, but there was a hint of coldness and calculation hidden deep in her eyes, out of reach of everyone, that thought everyone was just a plaything.
Aiden had always found Theresa a mystery, with her hidden depths that no one could ever understand.
"Good morning, Aiden."
She smiled and greeted him first as soon as their eyes met.
Despite the seemingly warm greeting, there was a glimmer of something unknown behind her gaze.
His heart skipped a beat as he gazed into her eyes, and he felt the same mysterious connection he had always felt with her.
"Good morning to you too, love."
He said this and greeted her back with the same enthusiasm.
"Shhh! Everyone would hear you. Relationships are not allowed in school."
Theresa shushed him with a finger on her lips and a wink from her right eye.
"Oops!"
He covered his mouth exaggeratedly.
This was the start of their daily routine of chit-chat.
Aiden had a lot of friends.
He wasn't a recluse or an antisocial person, and he was aware that in order to function in society, one must adhere to its norms and maintain some degree of social engagement.
However, he knew that not even a single one of these so called "friends" would offer him help during a difficult time.
They were only close to him for one reason or another.
These "friends" had no real allegiance to him, and he knew that they would abandon him the moment it became convenient.
Aiden had a bright future in front of him, due to his high level of intelligence, he was popular among his peers, he was a talented athlete, and he was the future heir to his mother's fortune, despite the fact that he was raised by a single parent.
He was kind to everyone, but he was also aware that people in today's society were shallow, and the more deserving he was of praise and superiority over others, the more envious individuals there would be who would attempt to bring him down.
In today's highly regulated legal society, they simply didn't have the chance to do so.
Because it would not even take an hour for their crimes to result in their capture.
Aiden knew that if society was different from now, there would have been betrayals from even his closest friends, and if he didn't stay vigilant, his future could be in jeopardy.
That was why Aiden only trusted Theresa, his best friend and only lover.
Despite the fact that Theresa was from a more privileged background, Aiden and Theresa had an unbreakable bond, an intimate relationship of companionship and trust.
Theresa was rich, attractive, and even had grades that were only a little bit lower than his.
She had nothing to gain from him, so their relationship was very amicable.
They frequently shared secrets and had already shared their virginity with each other.
Aiden had faith that Theresa would still be there for him and stand by him through any difficulty.
He trusted that even in the worst case scenario, she would at least not betray him.
As time went on, Aiden and Theresa were having a conversation when, all of a sudden, he remembered a quote.
'Life is full of unexpected turns that you never see coming.'
And as if the Goddess of Mischief herself had been listening in on his thoughts, life took an unexpected turn for the worse today for him.
"Ahhhhhhhh!!"
A girl in the back screamed as a complicated arrangement of blood red circles materialized in front of her.
Soon, the other students in the classroom also became aware of the peculiar texts and circles.
Some became alarmed after recognizing them as magic circles from a well-known cartoon and then became excited about them, while others made an attempt to escape the room.
However, no one was able to move from their position as the circles began to emit a crimson-red light, and everyone could only watch helplessly as the world in front of them suddenly blurred and darkness surrounded their field of vision.
As their vision faded, they were taken to an unfamiliar world with a deep and mysterious atmosphere.
When the process was over, the classroom was left devoid of all life, with only the belongings of the students who were not in the room, left behind.
The world would later rank this as one of the top 10 unsolved mysteries on the planet, but that was a talk for another day.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Aiden's POV :
As the darkness grew lighter, a statue of a young woman, perhaps 20 years old, with snow-white skin and golden hair came into my line of sight first.
She stood there smiling with both hands raised, appearing to be holding the entire world in her arms.
However, for some reason, I could sense a strange, familiar coldness in her smile, and I immediately felt a chill run down my spine.
But I soon shook my head, collected my thoughts, and took a good look around.
We were positioned on an odd ceremonial stage inside a large room with a dome-shaped ceiling, which was about three stories high.
The huge pillars, which looked like they were made by stacking shiny white marbles on top of each other, surrounded the inside of the building, which was lit up beautifully.
From the immense chandelier to the marble columns, it was quite a sight to behold, and the fact that this beautiful structure had been built with such meticulous attention to detail showed me just how much effort went into it.
When I turned around to look, Theresa's figure was there too.
And while I was relieved to see that she didn't appear to be hurt, I found it odd that she didn't appear nearly as confused as the others.
'She can really maintain her composure in any circumstance.'
'It doesn't matter what's going on around her, she always manages to keep a level head.'
Possibly it was just her ability to remain calm, and I silently praised her for it.
Turning around a bit more, I could see that all of my classmates were looking as bewildered as I was, and it appeared that we were situated on top of a small stage that was slightly higher than the surrounding area, in the heart of the building.
It appears that all 20 of the students in the class—including Theresa and me—were caught up in this predicament.
Then, perhaps as if in search of an explanation, everyone's focus gradually shifted to those gathered around the small stage, which we were on.
There were at least 35 people gathered around the modest stage, kneeling with their hands interlocked as if in prayer.
All of them wore a white robe that was embroidered with silver, and they had a thick brown leather covered book near them.
The book looked like the Holy Bible, but I knew it was anything but that.
Suddenly, among them, an elderly man with a hunched back stepped forward.
He held a staff instead of a book and used it as a cane for support while walking.
His attire was extremely luxurious.
Unlike others, he had gold embroidery on his robe rather than silver.
He wore a long, delicate thing that looked like an ancient wizard's hat with a long, pointed tip on the top of his head.
However, he had an intimidating aura around him, despite his old age and hunched back.
Looking at the wrinkles on his face as well as his sophisticated eyes, even if people said he was only 50 years old, none would doubt it.
His presence was so strong and authoritative that it shut everyone down as soon as he opened his mouth.
"We welcome you all to the world of Negressea, our home. I am Jordan Swale, the pope of the church of Romia, the goddess of creation."
"I know you all have many questions, so don't worry, as I will answer them all, but only in the dining area, so please follow me."
He introduced himself and spoke calmly and politely, like an old grandfather giving advice.
His gentle demeanor and warm smile put everyone at ease, creating an atmosphere of comfort and trust, but his authoritative tone didn't leave any chance for anyone to even dare to refuse him.
* * * * *
The pope led the way, and we soon entered a stunningly spacious hall with a long dining table in the middle that had exactly 10 seats on either side and one lone seat at the head.
The seating arrangement itself was designed to establish a hierarchy right away.
The pope was seated on the head seat, and I could easily guess that he would assess everyone's significance based on where they chose to sit.
Somehow, these subtle nudges kept me on guard and made me realize that you couldn't underestimate an elderly man who served as the leader of an entire religion in all sincerity.
Even though I was in an unknown, uncomfortable situation, I couldn't help but admire the pope.
We had only ever seen a room this large and lavish in television shows and movies, and I found it perplexing because nobody had spoken or expressed their thoughts up until this point.
Instead, everyone had just been whispering to one another.
However, I did understand their perspective to a degree.
What happened to us was clearly not a scientific experiment, and there was clearly a greater power at work here that moved us from one world to another.
And despite how disorderly and troublesome some students were in real life, even they recognized the seriousness of the situation, and they all kept quiet during this exchange.
They also realized that it was better to be aware of their circumstances first rather than act hastily in this uncharted territory.
'We've all read manga and novels, and we understand the concept of isekai victims, who tend to overreact and are then killed to serve as examples for others.'
I was not sure how many of my classmates had read comparable material and understood it, but I knew that everyone's thoughts were on the same subject at the moment.
As everyone else sat down, Theresa joined me on the side.
"What's happening?"
When I whispered to her, Theresa, who didn't know either, simply shrugged her shoulders, gesturing for me to keep quiet while pointing at the pope, who was about to speak.
"Before we start our feast, I know that each and every one of you has a lot of questions. So let me dispel them for you."
After that, the Pope started explaining arbitrarily.
In summary,
The Pope explained that the demons, or extraterrestrial life forms, arrived on Negresea 236 years ago.
When the might of the formidable demon king and his never-ending army of demons threatened to destroy humanity.
The populace of Negressea prayed to Romia, the Creator goddess, and requested her protection.
In response, the goddess then instructed them to summon heroes from other worlds.
Following which, the goddess also gave the summoned heroes special blessings, which they used to help the Negresseans kill the demon king and, in the end, save the whole world.
All people revered those heroes, and the goddesses granted each of the heroes a single wish, as well as allowing them to live out the rest of their lives in opulence.
And now that the demons were attempting to invade this world once more, we were the heroes called upon to save it from the impending destruction brought about by the demon invasion.
The story described by the pope was certainly interesting, but considering it was now our reality, just one word came to mind:
'Nonsense!'
Everything the Pope said was a carefully crafted concoction of the truth, lies, and bullshit.
A great story for making people feel like things are fair, putting yourself in a bad situation, and finally luring people in with money, luxury, and desires.
Like I would ever fall for it.
