Annie Charlton was a woman of impeccable aristocratic taste, one who never lost her composure no matter what predicament she faced.
Before she had even reached adulthood, she encountered the Aztec demon god, Tezcatlipoca, who had been summoned by a group of sorcerers.
And then—
Using the ritual implements at hand, she slew the Heretical Tezcatlipoca and completed the rebirth ritual of a God-Slayer.
The power from the demon god granted her the ability to transform her body into monstrous forms, to run through the darkness, to manipulate curses, to become an invincible giant, and to be a marksman of demonic bullets.
After obtaining the Authority of a god and witnessing the harm sorcerers inflicted upon the populace, she decided to hunt them down.
However, perhaps influenced by Hollywood movies, this particular God-Slayer was not fond of the limelight and chose to don a disguise, just like a superhero from the films.
In the early days of her disguise, when asked for a name, "he" would answer with "John Smith" or "John Doe"—aliases that could be used even for an unidentified corpse.
After learning of his legend, the citizens who caught a glimpse of his shadow bestowed upon him the name "Pluto."
And thus, John Pluto Smith was born.
All sorcerers feared him; the populace revered and worshipped him.
Investigate the truth of a case under the identity of Annie Charlton, and then, once the truth is revealed, annihilate the evil as John Pluto Smith.
This was Lord Pluto's modus operandi.
In a way, Lord Pluto was a true American comic book superhero.
However, even superheroes have their troubles.
And lately, Miss Annie had quite a few of them.
For example…
Just yesterday, she had gained two new compatriots.
And one of them had explicitly declared his intention to make the Far East his own territory.
If no one went to intervene, a conflict between the King who slew Lugh and the local King of the Far East was bound to happen.
Annie, who had received the invitation from the Council of Idlers, couldn't help but frown.
Being a God-Slayer herself, she knew exactly what kind of people her brothers and sisters were.
Willful, stubborn, and arrogant, with a complete disregard for the well-being of the populace.
If no one stopped them, it wouldn't be long before a significant portion of the Far East was turned into a mosaic of destruction.
But—
She couldn't get away.
The Lighthouse Country was, as its name suggested, like a lighthouse.
While a bright light shines from its peak, a deep darkness festers at its base.
Countless sorcerers had set up camp here.
If Annie, as Lord Pluto, were to leave for too long, the shadows at the base of the lighthouse would expand and create a crisis.
Annie wasn't sure if she could persuade—or physically persuade—her two new compatriots in a short amount of time, so she had to think carefully before acting.
And—
Now, there was another individual here who required her full attention.
Annie, who had been acting as Lord Pluto's assistant, glanced to her side. A girl with long, chestnut-brown hair stood beside her.
Ana Schariac.
That was the girl's name.
She had found her last night while clearing out a sorcerer's camp.
Because that sorcerer organization was particularly well-hidden, she had spent a great deal of time on the investigation.
By the time she had transformed into John and rushed over, she had thought she might be too late.
As it turned out, she was indeed too late.
When she arrived, the entire camp had already been frozen into ice shards by this rather adorably goofy-looking girl.
Honestly, when Annie first laid eyes on the girl, she even thought she had encountered a Heretical God or another of her own kind.
The reason was simple: the cold wave at that time had been utterly ferocious.
Even she, a God-Slayer, felt extreme discomfort within that domain and even had the urge to unleash her Authority and transform into a giant just to resist the freezing wind.
But—
Ana was not a Heretical God, nor was she a God-Slayer.
After receiving Annie's warning, she quickly ceased her attack and then apologized for accidentally injuring her with the cold wave.
Ana was a very polite child.
Not an evil person.
Annie, possessing the standard God-Slayer super-intuition, understood this quickly.
However, not being evil was one thing, but having a figure of unknown identity and immense power just hanging around Los Angeles was another matter entirely.
So, Annie, as Lord Pluto, had advised her to leave the Lighthouse Country.
And then—
"The Director will come looking for me. If I suddenly change my location, it will be very troublesome for the Director."
That was the reply Annie received.
What's a Director?
The title 'Director' just sounds like it belongs to someone with E-rank luck.
Annie, who had no idea what a Chaldea Director was but instinctively felt the title was rather tragic, quickly sensed that something was amiss.
"Director" was a position of authority.
And apparently, Ana's superior.
The superior of a super-powered individual who could make a God-Slayer feel a sense of crisis…
It seems I've stumbled upon a rather incredible organization.
Annie, a superhero in her own right, understood this immediately.
So, what exactly was this organization that was secretly amassing power trying to do?
Annie's heart couldn't help but grow heavy.
She didn't press Ana any further. Instead, she introduced her other identity to the girl and offered to be her guide.
Lord Pluto, desperate to find out what kind of organization was behind the girl named Ana, had once again taken up the name "Annie."
She planned to approach Ana as an ordinary person and try to uncover the truth about the organization behind her.
"Why isn't the Director here yet?"
The girl, who had been waiting for a whole day, constantly scanned her surroundings with her pink eyes, muttering to herself.
The Director had the ability to teleport.
And he had definitely left a tracking marker on her.
Given his efficiency, he should have been able to find her in just a few minutes.
Therefore, she couldn't help but think of other possibilities.
"Could it be that he's sleeping with Sirin?"
"Or maybe he's flirting with Senior Fu Hua?"
The thick scent of jealousy in her words was so strong that even Annie—who could probably form a Singles' Alliance with the likes of Shizuka, Murata Himeko, and One-Punch Nan—could smell it.
What the hell is going on?
Annie, whose prior impression of Ana's "Director" had been that of some grand conspirator, thought to herself.
Why does it feel like that guy is just a playboy?
Or maybe a scumbag who preys on young girls' emotions.
Tsk, tsk—
Annie, her opinion of the so-called Director having plummeted, idly looked around.
And then—
An icy chill exploded up her spine, and her blood began to boil.
This was the instinctual reaction of a God-Slayer facing their natural enemy.
A god has descended!
PS: Want to guess which god Annie has sensed?