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Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX | 15:36 |

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"By the will of the Mashiach, I command the divine fire to appear and lay waste to my enemy!"

As if her finger was a lighter, a white fire appeared out of nowhere. It didn't consume her flesh and turn her into some kind of freaky, burning effigy. Instead, it remained in place and crackled steadily.

"W-Wha...?" Anya, eyes widened, stuttered as she collapsed on her butt. "M-Magic... It can't be..."

It was a mere display of prowess, unworthy to be mentioned, yet it was different for Ivan. From otherworlders' point of view, he believed that it was just a CG, but a side of him that yearned for fantasy, he believed it to be real.

"It's real!" a new voice behind him broke his train of thought. It was the last person to be caught in the summoning. This time Ivan was able to see this person as a whole.

He was a short haired boy with two pair of eyes that screamed joy and energy. His overall face was that of a normal teen, not too handsome yet not too ugly. Somewhere in between, but his energetic and positive nature made him naturally stood out among the rest.

"Guys, it's real!" he repeated again, this time he sounded happier than before. "Look at her! She can use magic! And it's a divine fire, the fire that said was originated from the God's fury!"

"Oh, my!" the Priestess dispelled her magic, brows arched up, "I didn't know there's someone knowledgeable among you. This is certainly new. What is your name, great hero? And how did you know such legend?"

Ivan rolled his eyes. What's with this elementary question? Didn't she chant 'divine fire' or something just now? It was enough for even an idiot to figure it out!

The teen put a hand dramatically on his chest and shouted pridefully, "My name is Adit! And for your second question of course I know! I read all about it in mangas! About heroes and Gods, and magic! My knowledge transcends the heaven itself!"

"Man...?" now it was her turn to gape.

Ivan facepalmed.

That guy was an otaku...

Finally freed from the guy's rant, the High Priestess coughed to regain her dignity, "I-I believe we were distracted for a second there... W-Well, let us go back to the reason of your summoning."

"Please, can you send us back?" Mei squeaked, "I have cram school at four o'clock. My mom will kill me if she knew I wasn't there..."

"Pardon me, but what is kram skul?" she asked back.

Anya and Mei tried her best to explain it to her, to which she responded with a slight nod. "I see, additional after-school lesson. But, no need to worry. By the time you were summoned here, the time in your world is suspended.

"Also, for your interrupted kram skul, I'm so very sorry to say this, but now we are not in the condition to send you back."

"What do you mean?!" Anya screamed, "you guys summoned us to this place, it's natural that you should know how to return us!"

"It's not that we don't know. I did say we aren't in the best condition to do that," she explained, "summoning someone way beyond our world takes heavy toll on our mind. This is why we used mana stones to lessen the burden. But now that we completely used them, it's impossible to send you back."

"Y-You're kidding..." Mei gasped as she slumped on the ground. "...we can't return... Oh, gosh! Oh, gosh... My mom will kill me... The flip-flop, the hanger... I don't want to die yet..."

"We will return you to your world, but please listen to us first."

Ivan frowned at that. He didn't like the sound of it.

At all...

The High Priestess opened her eyes and looked at each summoned hero in the eyes, before speaking aloud, "Our world is in great peril. The Demon Lord Armagaduk's seal has started to weaken once again and we have no choice but to summon the otherworlder. We must seal him back or defeat him once and for all, or else everything would be laid to waste..."

"Can't you do that with the people from this world?" Andre asked, "there's no need for you to waste so much resources and time for the likes of us."

"While it is true that we have highly trained warriors in this world, the seal can only recognize the hero and his party if they want to seal the Demon Lord--and our knights are no match for a monster like him, if we wished to kill him."

Andre clicked his tongue, "Damn, that sucks!"

"This is why we need your help, otherworlders. You are blessed by the Mashiach and, due to His benevolence, you are naturally more powerful than us. We promise we will return you to your world once we confirm that he is sealed or killed."

Once we confirm...? Cold sweat trickled down his cheek painfully slowly he could feel the time itself had stopped. Not once you bring his head or close the seal, but once we confirm?

It took him several minutes to actually discern the hidden meaning...

Oh, shit!

That bitch is gonna imprison us forever in this place?! To become some kind of puppet heroes to do their bidding until they deemed us useless?!

"Now..." the High Priestess trailed off as she waited for her servant to bring a black ball on a red cushion. "Let us proceed to the skills revelation process, shall we?"

Ivan gritted his teeth at the glittering, ominous-looking ball, seemingly encased by the void.

I need to devise a way to get out of here! This place is dangerous!