Initiation

A vast blue sky with few patches of dark clouds and a bright sun. The breeze flowed softly, carrying along the fresh breath of nature as it passed by.

It was such a pleasant time to laze around, right?

If so, how come I feel like my vision of the world is turned upside down? That picturesque azure sky is getting farther away, while the ground is seemingly heading toward us…

Beside Ryan, Ishtar and Ereshkigal screamed at the top of their lungs as they dived down fast along with him.

"AHHH!"

"We're falling!!"

Hmm… well, it was obvious that they were falling down. With their current speed, they would soon hit the ground in around a minute. It was not because Ishtar wouldn't use her authority to fly, nor the case wherein Ryan wouldn't use magic spell to keep them afloat.

'…our magic ability is suppressed. No, to be precise, there is a lot of resistance from the world itself if we want to affect it with our magic.'

Currently, their situation was as though the world itself consciously rejected the foreign interference which forcefully altered the world. As a result, any magical ability which affected the outside world would be suppressed to the utmost.

'It isn't impossible to resist that restriction for a while, but it'd definitely cost a lot of mana… it isn't worth the trouble for now.'

Moreover, he sensed that this world possessed even lower concentration of mana compared to Fate world he was living in before. Any spent mana was precious since it would be hard to replenish it again in this world.

Having said that, Ryan could feel that he was still able to strengthen himself through Origin Tempering Art. Moreover, unlike the case with his magecrafts, his Arcane Art and innate ability were not affected by the world's laws for some reasons.

'They may be feeling shocked for getting their ability sealed all of sudden.'

Like a fish which suddenly forgot how to swim,

Ishtar and Ereshkigal felt confused and shocked when they were suddenly unable to exercise most of their ability as soon as they arrived in this world.

"Ishtar, Ereshkigal, try using your newly acquired Arcane Art," Ryan unfurled a pair of demonic wings as he grabbed their waist. He gradually brought them to a close halt, staying afloat several meters on the sky.

Now that they have managed to keep themselves from falling and heard his reminder, Ishtar and Ereshkigal calmed down. They were able to sense that although their power was seemingly sealed, they were still able to utilize the Arcane Art.

Previously at the white hall, Ishtar acquired the Light Elemental King imprint which turned into Sacred Heaven Arcane Art after integrating with her.

As for Ereshkigal, she was chosen by the imprint of Dark Elemental Queen and acquired Dark Firmament Arcane Art as a result.

The other ladies also got their own Arcane Art after they were found suitable by the Arcane Imprints left at the painting of primordial battlefield.

Still…

Despite realizing that they could use their Arcane Art, Ishtar and Ereshkigal had their face blushing a little when they realized their current situation. They squirmed slightly, trying to move away from a certain someone's demonic hand which sneaked around their waist on this opportunistic moment.

"What a scoundrel…~"

"Ehm…~"

Ryan still had a cool expression on his face as though he didn't realize their piercing stare, "Hmm?"

His hand was still actively roaming around as he picked another advantage from them. Even then, he still had the gall to look at them in confusion, "Why don't you try using your Arcane Art, Ishtar, Ereshkigal?"

Ishtar, speechless, shook her head in defeat, "I've realized just how shameless you can be, Ryan."

Several circles of light appeared around Ishtar as she tried to utilize her Sacred Light Arcane Art.

Small circles around the size of soccer ball flew behind her and stacked on each other as they formed a fluorescent shroud. The shroud allowed her to fly on her own, thus Ryan decided to let her go.

Seeing that Ishtar was able to utilize her Arcane Art to fly again and released herself from Ryan's demonic hand, Ereshkigal also tried to activate her own Arcane Art.

As she did so, though, a black light suddenly enveloped her and Ryan together.

"Eh?!"

Rather than having the ability to fly on her own, Ereshkigal and Ryan dived down faster to the ground, as if they couldn't wait to smash the ground, like a meteor falling to earth…

Boom!

Dust and gravels exploded forth, covering their surroundings when they hit the ground.

With his transcendent physique, the fall honestly didn't hurt him that much. It even felt quite good as he could get another advantage from Ereshkigal who was lying softly above him. And so Ryan teased her lightly, "Haha~ what did you eat to get so heavy all of sudden, Ereshkigal?"

"It- it isn't because I got fatter! Definitely not!"

Ereshkigal pounded her small fist on his chest as she denied it furiously.

"Well, it's a fact that you got heavier all of sudden. Can't help it~~"

"N-no… it isn't me! It's the Arcane Art's, you know about it too, right, Ryan?!"

Ryan merely laughed as he looked at her embarrassed face. It was a quite fun sight to see that he couldn't help smiling more.

"Hm, I wonder. However, it seems like you got an interesting Arcane Art, Ereshkigal."

Dark Firmament Arcane Art.

From what Ryan felt briefly just then, he guessed that it was an Arcane Art which allowed the user to manipulate gravity. Ereshkigal was not proficient in utilizing it yet, that was why she made a small blunder like before.

"Right? I didn't get fatter…!"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. So, could you stop flirting with him like that, sister? Just so you know, we are not alone here," Ishtar spoke with a teasing smile on her face as she descended beside them.

Her gaze was aimed at a certain bush inside the deep forest as she smiled profoundly.

"Do you think you can hide from us, kids?"

Ereshkigal woke up to her feet when she heard Ishtar's words. Her face blushed ever so slightly, though it quickly returned to stoic face as she followed Ishtar's gaze to look at a certain direction.

Ryan dusted himself off as he spoke lightly to both of them, "Don't be too mean those kids, my dear lady."

A pair of demonic wings unfurled lightly behind Ryan as he then continued, "Or you will scare them."

His purple eyes possessed a devilish charm which made one shudder in its presence, as though one were completely seen through under his gaze. His seemingly genial smile looked like a wicked grin of the demon king from hell as his demonic wings flapped gently behind him.

Ishtar & Ereshkigal: "…"

You're scaring them more than us, though??

–was what they thought inside their heart quietly.

At such moment,

As they couldn't find any reason to hide themselves any longer after being completely seen through, a young man and woman walked out of the bush with tense expression on their face. They held their weapon tightly as they stared at Ryan and two beautiful women beside him with guarded gaze.

"Who are you guys?"

The young woman asked nervously as she gripped her bow. Her other hand already reached her arrows. She seemed to be ready to shoot, yet the tremble on her hand hinted that her feeling might not be that calm.

The demonic wings returned inside him as Ryan then smiled quietly. Before the pair even noticed, Ryan already flashed at their midst, tapping their shoulder as he said calmly, "Relax, we are not bad guys."

A bag of supplies. Fine weapons. And clothing which seem to fit for a long travel.

'Looking at their attire and slightly weary complexion, they seem to be on a journey or some sort.'

"You guys should know more of the area around here. I only want to ask you guys something; so, care to accompany us a bit?"

Feeling the strong pressure on their shoulder, the young man and woman had their complexion turned pale so suddenly that it seemed like a magic being cast on them.

The young man replied with a smile as he looked at Ryan's caring smile, "Sure, it's my honor."

Though, his smile looked worse than a crying donkey…

"Good. For starter, tell me, where are you going to?"

The young man and woman looked at each other as they appeared hesitating slightly. Soon, the young man replied in caution, "We are going to capital city of the Empire…"

"Hmm. I see. Let's tag along for a while, 'kay?"

And thus, it was how Ryan, Ishtar and Ereshkigal temporarily joined the young man's party.

. . .

Inside the palace, at a large room prepared for guests.

A group of people, a total of four groups, appeared out from a flash of light inside the room. They appeared confused at first, but they quickly recognize their situation and regained their composure.

[Olympus], [Devil Slayer], [Blood Clan], and [Demon League].

"Hm, I see. This time's mission is to protect the Empire and its reign, heh."

"Really, a protection mission? What a boring shit!"

"Hmph. A bunch of uncultured brutes. Since we're tasked with protecting it, the other faction should be moving against us. We shall feast on their blood soon."

"…"

The representative of [Olympus], Aldrian, was quietly looking through the mission again as he heard their talk.

He has quickly realized that they couldn't use mana in this world.

Since their usage of mana was restricted, most of their abilities were unable to be used in full power, and the danger for this mission was elevated to higher degree.

'…as expected, innate ability and Arcane Art aren't affected that much by the lack of mana.'

A small electric current swiftly appeared throughout Aldrian's body before it disappeared.

This was the reason why Arcane Arts was famous in the Tower and the worlds connected to it; because they were mostly unaffected by the different world's laws and stayed true to their own path.

Each Arcane Art had an extremely high adaptability rate which allowed them to keep most of their abilities even in different worlds. A high-tier Arcane Art could even ignore the world laws and imposed its own mystic upon the world.

In addition, with its trait of extreme adaptability, the same Arcane Art might result in different set of abilities when it's practiced by different people. Such difference was usually caused by their differing physique, spirit, tendency, and personal abilities of each practitioner.

[Thunder God Tome].

It was an Arcane Art created based on the [Lord of the Skies]'s technique, and granted its practitioner the ability to manipulate thunder.

This was the Arcane Art that Aldrian acquired after he passed the trial from [Olympus].

Even as a direct descendant, one still needed to possess certain amount of qualification before they would be nurtured.

The weak would be tossed aside, while the strong would be nurtured. Such was the norm in [Olympus].

When his thought reached that point, a dark expression flashed through Aldrian's eyes.

'Sis...'

Though, that gleam vanished in the blink of eye as his expression turned calm in the next second.

'They should also have realized it.'

Representative of [Devil Slayer], Devil Princess Raiha.

Representative of [Blood Clan], Bloodsword Claudia.

Representative of [Demon League], Crazed Fist Azrul.

They each had a thoughtful look on their face as they were pondering about certain matter.

After all, if the trial only wanted to pit participants against each other, then separating them into two factions would be enough. There was no need for the third faction.

Yet, the fact that there was a third faction; the non-faction.

Just like a pack of vultures.

The third faction would mostly prey upon the other two factions which showed their weakness first. As such, either faction had to consider whether they would be preyed upon by the non-faction in every move they made against their opposing faction.

Aldrian had a faint smile on his face, 'A chaotic three-way battle. Interesting.'

He wasn't someone who liked uncertain factors. He preferred to use precise and calculated moves with no wasted effort. If there was someone who aimed for his 'prize', he would tear them to pieces!

"Silence."

His voice carried heavy presence which immediately made their arguments quietened down.

Aldrian nodded gently at such sight, he turned his gaze at the representative of other groups, "I won't say much about the Red faction, their mission should be going against the Empire if we are tasked to protect it."

"Oy. Don't beat around the bush, fucker!" Azrul had an impatience look on his face when he heard Aldrian's starting speech…

Aldrian shrugged it easily as he didn't mind Azrul's harsh words. It was widely known that despite his brash conduct, Azrul wasn't a mere simpleton who only liked to fight. He could tolerate him as long as Azrul didn't hinder his plan.

"In short, what I want to say is; you all should have an inkling about the risk third faction pose toward our current mission."

"…and so? Anyone who bar my path shall be crushed."

Bloodsword Claudia spoke coldly, her gaze swept past the other groups too as she warned them not to hinder her group if they didn't want to be dried corpses.

"True. It's also my believe," Aldrian smiled calmly, but his eyes flashed coldly to Claudia's provocation.

"It's better if they can be used to our mission, but if not, let's just crush them! HaHaHa!" Azrul declared lightly. He wasn't bothered with either outcome.

Only the representative of [Devil Slayer], Raiha, was still keeping her silence. She deigned herself to join their conversation as she was thinking to herself,

'Ryan is probably in the opposite faction. Heh~ there's nothing wrong if I try to beat him up since he is in opposition, right?'

She felt strangely happy as she thought about beating the shit out of that cheating scoundrel…

At that time, a palace guard opened the door on their room, holding a piece of royal decree on his hand.

The palace guard's arrival became the focus of participants as their gaze was directed at him, causing that man to tremble as he took out the royal decree to read aloud,

"Foreign warriors, His Majesty the Emperor has summoned for your presence in the Throne Hall. May you take haste."

The palace guard quickly scurried away after he read the royal decree. For some reason, he felt like if he kept staying there, he would turn into a dead man not long after…

Aldrian smiled lightly, "Guess this is the beginning of the 'plot'. We will go first."

I want to see just what kind of a person the Emperor of this empire. Heh~ don't disappoint me, otherwise–

He chuckled a little as he went toward the Throne Hall following that palace guard. His entourage followed behind him as they arranged themselves in an orderly formation.

To be honest, Aldrian didn't mind to supplant their rule with his own if the Emperor was not to his liking.

. . .

At another place,

Four other groups appeared simultaneously at a large campsite with each group placed inside separate camps.

They were [Returners Hall], [Soaring Dragon], [Spirit Palace], and [Heaven Sealing Sect].

They also soon realized the peculiar suppression of the world on their abilities and its lack of mana.

There was no signboard or clear name for the people gathered in this campsite. However, they each wore red bandana with black cross on it as a symbol of their identity. Most of them put the bandana on their forehead, while some put it on their arm.

They identified themselves as the Revolutionary Army, the one who rebelled againts the corrupted Empire's government.

. . .

At the land far north,

A group of battle maiden fought a fierce battle againts a group of Empire's army led by a blue-haired female general.

Her piercing cold gaze had a slightly surprised gleam as she watched the battle between her subordinates and that group of ferocious women.

Seeing that her soldiers kept falling, dying on those women's sword, she grinned,

"Stop. It's enough."

The soldiers who were fighting those women immediately stopped and returned to their rank. They appeared like they have been given an amnesty from their general...

"I admit that you all have good skills. Therefore, I will only say it once; follow me or die here like bitch? Choose, brave warriors."

Her cruel grin looked like a devil's smile. At same time, innumerable ice spears manifested behind her, locking intently on those battle maidens.