Prologue

Author’s Note: Hey guys, welcome to my first actual web novel. It’s been years in the making, as in I’ve been wanting to do something that’s not a fan fiction for years. I’m trying to do this in a style similar to “Double Edge Hero(?)”, an original novel by the head of Iskei Translations. It’s my first attempt at this writing style, so please bare with it? Anywho, please enjoy?

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What do you think of when you hear the term Fantasy World? You think of a medieval like setting, castles, towers, magic, and stuff like that. You also think of other races like faeries, elves, dwarfs, goblins, and animal people. You also think that the hero is on a quest to face either a dragon or a demon lord/devil king. Not to mention they are from a world without magic, everything is done by technology and science. Sorry, but the hero of this story is not like that.

Despite the change in times, there are still battles in which a hero is chosen by the fate to face the Devil King and his legion of demons. There have been heroes chosen in the past for this, and each time they had prevailed. Male, female, human, elf, there has never been any bias on the chosen hero. Some of the blood from past heroes even flows through the veins of some of the current nobility. However, this time the chosen hero was me, a half-man. I was the first half-man in over a thousand years to be chosen, so it was a big deal. There had been at least three dwarfs, five elves, and numerous humans in that time.

Here I am, in front of the doors to the Devil King’s throne room. My life had already been turned upside down since I became the chosen one of my nation. Now is time to end it all, either go for broke or die trying. My sword in my right hand and a revolver in my left, I went through countless minions to get here. I even left my party behind because this is my fight. As my hands were full and I wanted to make a bad-assed entering, I chose to kick open the doors.

“Devil King, your time is up!”

I ran towards the throne to see a figure standing in front of it, facing it. As it was the Devil King, I was sure that he would turn around to counter my blade. And if that doesn’t work, I had my trusty revolver that still had three bullets left. It doesn’t matter the opponent, a bullet through the skull will kill anything. But as my foe turned around, I had to try to stop.

The figure with the menacing mantle on their back was a girl, looked to be around my age. Other than the mantle, she wore a white short-sleeved blouse, a black neck-tie, and a pleated skirt that matched. She also wore green and black-stripped knee socks, and black slippers. Both her hair and her right eye were sea green, the same shade as the green on the knee socks while her left eye was more of a darker color. She wore her hair in a ponytail, with bangs that came from side to side. Her height seemed to be around five feet and three inches. She also had a mole near the bottom left of her left eye. But when I managed to stop, my face almost touched her well endowed chest.

“Hello, hero.”

This really threw me for a loop. Especially after she leaned down to look me straight in the eyes.

“Wait… who are you?”

“My real name is of no importance, most of the demons here call me Sea Green. You may address me as Sea.” (Sea)

“Alright, Sea. Where is the Devil King?”

“You’re looking at her.” (Sea)

What really bothered me was that she said it with a wink from her right eye.

“But… you’re a girl?”

“To be honest, Devil King is the official title given to those chosen for the position.” (Sea)

This was bad. I never wanted to kill a girl, it didn’t seem right. Especially considering the fact that she was being nice to me, despite her title. However, I was the hero and I had a job to do. I grabbed my sword and started to plunge it into her chest. But… I stopped after I heard a noise.

Pop*

What I saw, I couldn’t believe. Her left breast suddenly disappeared. I slowly pulled my sword back, dumbstruck on what just happened. Not to mention, I saw her eyes start to tear-up.

“You meanie!” (Sea)

Now she was pounding her closed fists on my chest. Tears fell from her heterochromatic eyes as she did it. It didn’t hurt or anything, but I felt bad.

“Stop it already, I’m sorry!”

Even though my apology calmed her down a little, she was having slight trouble stopping her tears. My guilt wasn’t getting any better. However, it changed to shock when she unbuttoned her blouse enough to pull a balloon out of it.

“Whatever, just wait over there while I change shirts.” (Sea)

After she went to a changing screen, I had to think for a bit.

Why the balloons?

Thanks to one popping when I tried to stab her, her life was spared. If I had chosen to use my revolver to shoot her, this would had been over.

But why didn’t she try to stop my sword?

It wasn’t just that.

Is she even trying to fight?

Too many things I wanted to know.

“Alright, I’m finished.” (Sea)

I looked to the changing screen to see that she was wearing another white blouse. This time, she wore a maroon vest that had some sort of insignia on the left breast area over it. Now that her appearance was more honest, I could see that she wasn’t very endowed at all. Any flatter, she could be a washboard.

“Would you like some tea?” (Sea)

“Wait… aren’t we supposed to be fighting to the death in a battle of good versus evil here?”

“Don’t worry, I just wanna talk right now. All that I have to converse with here are demons, and they’re not exactly the best conversationalists.” (Sea)

“Wait… what?”

“Just hear me out over some tea?” (Sea)

Well, I wasn’t the kind of person to deny the request of a cute girl. And I did owe her for embarrassing her in the first place. No matter what I could think of, I couldn’t just kill her right now.

“Fine…”

“That’s great!” (Sea)

I was having more doubts that this girl could be called a Devil King. She was too cheerful, not as viscous as the stories of old said. It was making me wonder if I should doubt the teachings of the church, but I could never say it. No one wants to make an enemy of them, not even the one chosen to be the hero. So it’s a better idea to keep my trap shut.

“Tea is ready.” (Sea)

She then signaled me to follow her into another room. It wasn’t too big, but the walls were all covered with bookshelves. I had the feeling that this was her personal study, especially due to the fact that there was a fireplace. There was also a table with two chairs across from each other. Next to the table there was a small cart with two teacups, a teapot, and a tray with crumpets. After I had pulled her chair out due to being polite and then sat myself on the other chair, the maid in the room started pouring the tea into the teacups and set them in front of us.

The maid was a bigger surprise. I was expecting something with horns. She was slightly taller than Sea, I can only guess five feet and five inches as her height. I could instantly tell that she was a night elf, her tanned skin, silvery hair, golden eyes, and the long ears. She wore her hair up in a bun, so I couldn’t tell the exact length. Her attire was of a higher classed maid as her skirt was long, and she wore round glasses. Unlike Sea, she was voluptuous in figure. I could see the slight bounce in her breasts as she moved.

“Humph” (Sea)

She noticed my eyes looking at the maid, so I can tell that was for me. I quickly turned my attention to the Devil King as I didn’t want to cause any commotion.

“One lump or two?” (Maid)

“Two.”

I said it without looking at her because I knew I would end up staring again. But I did pay attention to her hand as she put the two cubes of sugar into my teacup. After the maid set out the crumpets on the table, she took her cart and left for another room.

“Now… where to begin?” (Sea)

“Wait.”

“Huh?” (Sea)

Even though my sword was sheathed and it was hanging on the belt that I left hanging on the back of my chair, I knew I had to not show an opening in the case that this was an ambush. I un-holstered my revolver and set it down on the table, to let her know that I wasn’t going to let down my guard.

“Let’s set one thing straight before talking, I will not be caught with my pants down. So if this tea is poisoned, you have some buddies hiding behind the shelves to attack me, or even attack me yourself… I will put a bullet in your skull.”

“Rude much?” (Sea)

“Huh?”

“Believe it or not, I’m not cowardly enough to do anything like that. I have no ill intentions towards you. Well… unless you count the fact I wanna touch your ears as an ill intention?” (Sea)

“Wait.. what?”

“I never seen anyone with real animal ears in person before. I just wanna play with them!” (Sea)

“Just because I’m a canine half-man doesn’t make me a dog ya know?”

“That’s what your called? A half-man?” (Sea)

“Yes…”

“I think ‘animal person’ would be a better name. Half-man just seems too… derogatory.” (Sea)

“Hey, we didn’t pick the name. That was something the humans called us.”

“Those humans sure were stupid.” (Sea)

“Eh, I agree with the Devil King?”

“No need to jest, my dear sir.” (Sea)

I couldn’t believe it, I chuckled with the Devil King. Not to mention that I calmly took a sip of my tea afterwords.

“So… what do you want to talk about?”

“Us.” (Sea)

“Wait… what?”

“You were chosen by the church in the name of the Deity to fight me, right?” (Sea)

“Yeah, though I didn’t want the job.”

“I can tell. To be honest, I didn’t want my job either.” (Sea)

“Wait… you mean to tell me that the Devil King is something selected too?”

“Pretty much. However, I’m going to tell you something that you will not believe.” (Sea)

“Here I am, the only half-man Hero chosen in a thousand years. Not to mention that I’m having tea with the Devil King, who has the title despite being a girl. I doubt anything will surprise me anymore.”

“I was summoned from another world.” (Sea)

I choked on my tea. After regaining my ability to breath properly, I finally made my reply.

“You’re right, I don’t believe it.”

“I have proof.” (Sea)

“Then show it?”

She then pulled out a satchel that had the same insignia as her vest. She started pulling things out of it, some books that seemed to have the cover on the wrong side, some coins that I had never seen on my travels, some weird object the size of a cigarette case, and a card. On the card, there was her picture and some kind of chicken scratch runes. I had never seen a photograph in color before, but something was different. Even though the girl in the photograph looked the same and wore the same vest, shirt, and tie, there were differences. The girl in the photograph had raven-dark hair, and both her eyes were black. Not to mention that the hairstyle was in more of a bob-cut, shorter than that of the girl on the other side of the table. Also, the girl in the photograph wore glasses.

“That is my school ID, my real name is Sengoku Yuki. Yuki is my given name. I’m in class 3-B of–” (Sea)

“Wait… why is the hair and right eye different?”

“When I came to this world, I was given a bracelet that changed my appearance.” (Sea)

“Right… and the Pope is a horse?”

She then reached for the bracelet on her right wrist.

“Cambiamento!” (Sea)

I made sure that my hand was close to my revolver, in case this was some kind of trick to kill me. As I knew some spells, I knew that this was used in the mage’s language. However, the multicolored light coming from her body did blind me. Within a flash, things calmed down. When I saw her again, she was just like the girl in the photograph. Including the glasses.

“Believe me now?” (Sea)

“Wait… what the hell was that?”

“I take it that you never read any manga or watched anime? Pretty much, I’m a Magical Girl.” (Sea)

“I know what a mango is, but what’s anime?”

“I said ‘manga’, I think you did that on purpose?” (Sea)

“Fine… what’s manga?”

“This.” (Sea)

She handed me one of the books that came from her satchel. After correcting me that it goes ‘right to left’ instead of ‘left to right’ likes the books I’m used to, I looked into it. It was some sort of picture book, with more of those chicken-scratch runes that were on that school ID card she showed me earlier. All I could make out by the pictures was that there was a girl in a sailor-style outfit who transformed into another girl and she fought villains.

“So… manga is something similar to the funny pages in the newspaper?”

“NO!” (Sea)

“Huh?”

“Manga is nothing like the funny pages! Manga is a work of art! The blood, sweat, and tears of a mangaka trying their best to sell us a good story with great artwork!” (Sea)

“Mangaka?”

“That’s the term we use in my homeland for manga artist. Now, apologize to all the mangaka who have poured their blood, sweat, and tears for their passion!” (Sea)

From the expression on her face, it was like I had just committed blasphemy.

“Fine… I’m sorry.”

“That’s better.” (Sea)

“Still… what’s a Magical Girl? Is it something like a mage?”

“They are, and they aren’t. You see, a mage is someone who can use magic at any given time. A Magical Girl can only use magic when transformed and can only use their own spells. Well… I can use some of the standard spells when transformed as well.” (Sea)

“Right… but why?”

“It’s just the rules for a Magical Girl.” (Sea)

“I guess we all have our rules then?”

“Pretty much.” (Sea)

“Go figure. Still… what is that thing?”

I pointed to the object that looked like it was the size of a cigarette case. She picked it up and I saw it flip open vertically. From that, I could tell it wasn’t for holding cigarettes. She then pointed it at me and I saw a flash. It spooked me, that was for sure.

“What the hell?”

“Just look.” (Sea)

She then showed me the side that’s normally closed. I saw buttons with numbers on the bottom half, but the top surprised me. I saw an image of myself, complete with the shocked expression.

“What is that thing? Did you just take my soul?”

“Just because it can take your picture, doesn’t mean it can take your soul? Just how far behind the times is this world? So far I noticed that it has cars, but they’re very old looking. This little gadget is called a cell phone. It’s like a telephone, but you can carry it with you anywhere you go. Still… that was just the camera feature.” (Sea)

“But cameras are bigger? And photographs are colorless. Not to mention telephones have some rotary thing to dial the number. And thinking about this… is making my head hurt.”

“Now do you believe that I’m from another world?” (Sea)

I can’t take it anymore. Colored photographs, funnies that had to be read from ‘right to left’, Magical Girls, cell phones… what the hell is all this? All I did know is that I was defeated.

“Fine, I’ll believe you.”

“Great. So… is the pope really a horse?” (Sea)

“That was just sarcasm, she’s human.”

“The pope is a girl?” (Sea)

“Yeah, the pope is a girl. How can you be the Devil King and not know this?”

“To be honest… I haven’t really been allowed to leave the Devil King Castle.” (Sea)

“Wait… what?”

“It’s true. When I got summoned here, I thought it would be a magical adventure. Normally in manga and anime, the one being summoned is supposed to be the Hero and on a quest to save the world. However… I got the short end of the stick.” (Sea)

“To be honest, I didn’t even know there are other worlds.”

“Yeah, I didn’t either. Though it was always a dream of mine to live like a protagonist of an anime, manga or adventure game. To go on an adventure in another world. However, the Prime Minister of the Demon Realm forbids me to leave.” (Sea)

“Wait… the Demon Realm has a Prime Minister?”

That was something I wasn’t warned about. I knew about prime ministers, the Boromarl Republic has one.

“Yeah, the Demon Realm has a Prime Minister. Turns out the whole ‘Demon King’ things is more of a figurehead these days. All power belongs to the Prime Minister and he’s the real one behind the current war.” (Sea)

“But… not even the church told me this?”

“That’s because they don’t know. So even if you did slay me, the war will not end. And if you slay the Prime Minister, they will just choose the next in line for the job to replace him. Pretty much, the old traditions don’t matter anymore.” (Sea)

“But there must be a way to end this war?”

“Hero, have you ever wondered why the armies that oppose the Demon Realm don’t attack it straight on? Why they sent you and a small party?” (Sea)

“Because there’s not enough money in the war budget?”

“Right, and wrong at the exact same time. It’s true that all the countries don’t want to spend their money on ending this war. But that’s because most of the officials rob from the deficit. Not to mention that the officials in the church of this world don’t want the war to end.” (Sea)

“Wait… what? Why?”

“Because the influence of the church increases as this war drags on. From what I do know of your world, the Portnew Kingdom is still highly influenced by the church. Not to mention that Portnew is the highest donor to the churches funds. It’s one of the reasons why non-humans are not as protected, despite the church condemning slavery. If Portnew were to suddenly stop donating, the church’s power would crumble.” (Sea)

“That’s something I didn’t know. Does that explain why Portnew doesn’t attack Boromarl?”

“In a sense, yes. While the church needs Portnew to provide donations, Portnew needs the church’s influence to keep from being invaded. If the church were to suddenly decide that Portnew is a country of heretics, the other countries would decide to invade it on their whim. And according to the spies that the Demon Realm has in a lot of those countries, Portnew cannot afford to offend the church.” (Sea)

“Wait… the Demon Realm had already infiltrated?”

“I may be a figurehead, but as Devil King I’m allowed to look into the government records. That’s how I knew that you were the hero, Coy-kun.” (Sea)

“Wait… you already knew about me?”

“Yep.” (Sea)

After she said that with a wink, she immediately put all the contents back into her satchel and pulled out a large book from a shelf. She opened it to review that she had a folder hidden in the pages. She then pulled it out and opened it.

“Your name is Coy, a coyote species of half-man. Your height is five feet and eight inches, if not including those cute ears of yours. You’re seventeen years of age, as I am. You have also been arrested multiple times by Anthill Bay’s sheriff, Rodney Dalton. Not to mention that you were employed by the Walton Trading Company, run by Dale Walton. However… it was just a front used by the Walton Gang, which is headed by Mr. Walton. The Walton Gang is comprised of multiple races, humans like Mr. Dalton himself, half-men like you, and both elves and dwarfs. Also, the Walton Gang is the top of the criminal underworld of Anthill Bay. Not to mention that the Walton Gang’s major profits come from…” (Sea)

“Alright, stop already!”

I couldn’t take it. That girl knew more about my life than even my own parents did.

“I know all about you, that’s why I wanted to meet you. Unlike most heroes of legend, you were just a criminal selected by fate. You go by the beat of your own drum, making choices depending on the situation at hand. It’s also why I need your help.” (Sea)

“Wait… my help?”

“Yes, your help. I may be both a Magical Girl and the Devil King, but I have no power within the Demon Realm’s government. I’m more or less a puppet, only used to give out speeches to encourage the citizens to go to war. In reality, I’m more of a princess trapped in a tower, awaiting her knight to rescue her.” (Sea)

“Wait… what makes you think that I’m going to help you?”

It’s true that I felt sorry for her, she didn’t want to be the Devil King as much as I didn’t want to be the Hero. And unlike me, she was summoned from another world. Adding that with the fact that she’s more of a prisoner than a leader, she had it worse.

“Despite being a criminal, you’re still the Hero. And isn’t it the Hero’s job to rescue a damsel in distress?” (Sea)

She had me on that one, it was a hero’s job to help a maiden. But still…

“You’re the Devil King. It’s also the Hero’s job to slay you.”

“You have me on that one, so I’m willing to offer you something that no one else can.” (Sea)

“It better not be that cell phone thingy or a manga.”

“No, I offer myself.” (Sea)

“Wait… what!?”

“I’m willing to be yours, Coy. My mind, my body, everything. Though… be gentle with me, I’m still a virgin. I was saving myself for a certain boy from my world, but I now know that it would be impossible.” (Sea)

“Before I answer, I have to ask. Is it because you can’t return to your world?”

“Not really. Before I got summoned her, I saw him kissing another girl.” (Sea)

“Wait… that’s all?”

“Yes, that’s all. I mean, I haven’t even had my first kiss yet. I was saving it for someone who would accept me. I may be an otaku, but I don’t want to kiss a guy who goes around kissing other women.” (Sea)

“How did this change from virginity to first kiss?”

“I don’t know! All I know is that I’m willing to be yours. And all you got to do is get me out of here. If I’m going to spend the rest of my life in this world, I don’t want it cooped up in this castle.” (Sea)

“And what makes you think I want you?”

“But… aren’t I cute? I know that my chest is a little on the… compact side, but it shouldn’t matter. Right?” (Sea)

She had me there. I personally don’t care for bust size, but she’s still ‘compact’. I will admit that she is cute, even when not in Magical Girl form. Though if she could also wear her glasses when having her hair in Magical Girl form… I’d probably had fallen for her in an instant. However, there is one feature that I look for when it comes to woman. That’s when I stood up.

“Let me see your thighs.”

“Huh?” (Sea)

“To be honest, I’m more of a ‘thigh’ guy. I can overlook a ‘compact’ bust, but that’s only if your thighs are satisfactory enough.”

I could see her blushing. It only made her more cute. Slowly, she got in a better view and started to lift her skirt. It got to the point where I could see her panties, they were the same sea green and black striping as her knee socks. But I paid more attention to her thighs, my original intention. For once, this girl was in luck.

“Alright, let your skirt back down. Your thighs are nice and thick, just how I like ’em. Not to mention that your figure only makes them look that way. You pass.”

“You’re mean, ya know.” (Sea)

“Hey… if I’m going to be stuck with a girl I didn’t want in the first place, she better have some damn good thighs.”

“At least you’re honest. Still, how are we going to get out of here? It’s only a matter of time before the guards find the corpses you left behind.” (Sea)

“Before I let you know, what all are you taking? That satchel?”

She them picked it up and put the strap over her shoulder.

“Oh… you must mean my school bag? Yeah, I’m taking this.” (Sea)

“Then hold on tight.”

I then put my arm around her, and called on the ring on my right index finger. It was called a Ferry Ring, it ferries the wearer short distances. I couldn’t go half way around the world with it, but I had a plan. But first, I had to get us out of the Demon Realm capitol.

“Are you alright?”

I asked that after we teleported to just outside the outskirts of the capital. I could tell that she hadn’t used teleportation before. She looked a little queasy.

“I’ll… be fine…” (Sea)

“Good, but we gotta get out of here.”

“Are we gonna teleport again?” (Sea)

I could easily tell that she didn’t want to do it.

“No, I just need to pull a certain item out of my inventory.”

I then used my inventory window. Members of the Adventurer’s Guild all had them, as well as members of the Merchant’s Guild. It’s a special feature that allows us to carry more items than we could normally hold on us. This way we could make long journeys for days on end, we could carry all the needed supplies. Sadly, it’s not good for smuggling as you have to show the inventory window to town guards when you enter a town. Not to mention that living things could not be stored in there either. But for what I was about to withdraw, took up a lot of room. It made me happy that I paid the fees to have my inventory expanded over time, it was very heavy.

After I pulled out the item, Sea’s jaw dropped.

“Is that a… Saloon Car?” (Sea)

“Yeah, I never leave home without it. Even though most adventurers choose not to keep something this heavy in their inventory due to the fact that storage depends on weight and mass, I prefer to keep it on my inventory just in case I’m stranded somewhere and teleportation is not an option.”

After my quick explanation, I opened the passenger side door for her. And after she had entered, I closed the door and entered on the driver’s side. The car started and the gauge for the liquid charcoal (fuel) was still full. I gave Sea a quick smirk before we started driving away from the capitol.

Sea Memory 01 – Stairway to Heaven?