Chapter One
Right into episode one
***
Before he knew it,
He opened his eyes to an unfamiliar surrounding. Honk, honk, cars passed with honks, people moving about.
Slowly, he raised his head upwards.
The world felt gloomy, and fogs circled overhead. There was no blue sky, simply a dull grey sky overhead.
Yet… Despite it all, only one question lingered in his mind.
"…Where am I?"
The male muttered, staring around. At the people, at the cars, at the strange billboards, and at the strange surrounding.
Wait, in the first place.
'Aliens?'
Mingled with humans like him were strange sets of people: people with different skin colors and different bodies.
No, to say they were the personification of how aliens in drawings are perceived would be most accurate.
"Where the hell am I?"
Those words slipped out again as he turned.
He came face to face with the glass pane of a cafe, which reflected his reflection back to him.
Black hair, with two long strands slipping to the front, behind his hair tied into a bun.
Delicate features, his features blending into a feminine one, but not entirely.
His clothes were corporate white with black trousers and matching black shoes.
What's more was the odd weight he felt that his body seemed to be supported by.
"...Huh?"
Never minding that,
What truly caught his attention were the crystal-clear, blue, mesmerizing eyes that stared back at him from the glass.
And then…
"Funny."
He muttered.
The world did seem clear in his vision. Way too clear, and only when he realized did he shut his eyes instinctively.
"Ouch."
Wincing, he pressed his palms against his eyelids, massaging them, as the stabbing clarity began to ebb.
Relief trickled in,
But the problem now was…
"What is going on? Where am I? Who am I?"
Questions swirled in his mind.
Honestly, he was confused. His chest tightened, staggering a step back, as his heel scraped against the bricked pavement.
Tah~
Last he remembered was going to bed and—
"Hey, watch it!"
A voice interrupted his thoughts. His head immediately snapped. It was a foreign creature, with blue skin and a flat head.
The situation seemed like he was about to collide with the person, when all of a sudden, the person warped out of the way.
"Huh?"
His eyes, despite being closed, raised.
While they were shut, it was strange; he could see the outline of everything around him. Lines which defined the world.
Really…
'...What is—!'
Several minutes later.
After the storm of confusion, he finally forced himself to steady his breath, a long sigh leaking out as his chest heaved and dropped.
His palm pressed tight against his ribcage, as though trying to pin down the racing rhythm.
Now that he thought about it… this situation was almost familiar.
He had suddenly found himself in another world.
Alright. No big deal.
No, he'd be lying if he thought so.
With a reluctant grunt, he yanked out his phone looking over the short history of what on Earth he was seeing…
And,
'Yup. Definitely bizarre.'
Supersonic monkeys, vampires, talking fishmen, and all sorts of different supernatural monsters existed.
Just what kind of fantasy world had he dropped into?
"Of course," he muttered, lips curling back, "it just has to be New York."
His teeth ground together as the words hissed out.
Yeah, with all their top secrecy about aliens and all, this felt inevitable, even if this was no longer his former world.
Regardless, he still felt the urge to blame them. If nothing else, then out of sheer spite.
On more important matters, however—
[Supernatural Registration]
[ID no: #54702]
[Name: Morgan Sinclair]
[Age: 17 years old]
So… his name was Sinclair? Or Morgan? Gah. Either one would do, though Morgan had the better ring.
But then… Morgan? Since his first name was that. Any chance he was tied to that bloodline?
"Doubt it. That's a joke."
He muttered and gave his head a brisk shake. Still, tossed headfirst into a world like this… what exactly was he supposed to do?
He had supernatural powers.
Okay.
Then maybe that moment with the blue alien, when it nearly collided with him but suddenly warped out of the way, that had been his ability in action?
"Mmhm."
Morgan stroked his chin as his feet clobbered against the bricked pavement.
Destination?
He had none.
Goals? He had none, either. Now… how to survive in such a situation…?
That was the question now.
How the hell was he supposed to manage in a place like—
Boom~!
Just as he was in thoughts,
The ground gave a faint shudder.
A blast, or rather explosion rippled through the air, resounding from afar.
Smoke bellowed out in dark plumes rising up to the sky.
"Of course," he sighed, almost to himself. "In a world like this, it has to be common, right?"
With a breath that felt more like resignation than resolve, he clicked his heels against the pavement and started toward the smoke.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Morgan sprinted through the crowd, weaving between bodies. Weirdly, the world blurred past him in streaks.
Street signs, faces, entire blocks whipping by. A hundred meters. Two hundred. Three.
Strangely, his lungs didn't burn, nor did he feel a sharp stitch in his side. His chest rose and fell steady, as if the run meant nothing.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Faster. Closer. Until at last, he skidded to a stop.
"W-what's happening?"
"Robbery?"
"Zzzt!"
"Oh, Zonkleberg thinks the same too."
Smoke choked the street, spilling in dense clouds around the perimeter. People clustered at the edge, some gawking, others filming.
Morgan, however, narrowed his closed eyes.
Since he didn't identify the world in colors when his eyes were shut, he could see past the outlines of the smoke just fine.
From it, he looked toward the cause.
"Destroyed entrance of a bank."
"Cause…? An Alien?"
Morgan's tightened eyes twitched.
It was a light brown skinned humanoid that towered at least two meters or even more. Its hand was strange.
Grotesquely malformed, fingers fused into something that looked more like a machine gun than flesh.
"Errr."
Morgan cringed seeing this creature.
So the explosion must have come from his hands, huh. But.. in the middle of this, Morgan's crystal blue eyes opened.
The smoke… The smoke that was rippling outward was… avoiding him? How to put it? That was the closest way he could put it.
The closer it neared, the more it curved around him, splitting at the edges of his body like water around stone.
When he identified this further…
"A barrier?"
One encircling him. Just as he was just about to push further for more details…
Thud!
"How do you do, dumbass newbie."
Morgan heard a voice from the express way, cut across from where he stood.
There, he saw a man.
Humanoid, at the very least.
White haired, white outfit, everything down to the last details, except in inner shirt which was black, and his darker skin tone.
His feet was on the face of a teenager just like him.
Brown hair, wearing a more causal shirt, and his eyes… like his were shut.
"..."
Just as he was about to form a train of thoughts.
"It—it's coming back up!"
Suddenly a voice cracked through the air, prompting Morgan to snap his head towards the Alien.
'Supernatural, huh…'
That thought crossed his mind, as his eyes narrowed down on the hulking giant.
On pure instincts.
A step,
Tap!
He took a step. And,
Fwoosh~!
In a burst, of more speed than he had moved at earlier before, wind swirling around him, he appeared right in front.
"Grrk!?"
It noticed Morgan, flinching.
Immediately, it buckled its malformed arm at Morgan, who was suspended in mid-approach, and immediately shot from it.
Boom-!
Boom-!
Couple of explosions rang out, covering the streets with even more smoke.
Naturally, that would be the end of any mortal. After all, ordinary bodies can't withstand explosions like that, right?
However, Morgan came out unarmed from the explosion, nearing the alien.
"Grah?"
A guttural, disbelieving sound spilled from the creature's throat. Its arm jerked up again, charging another volley—Whack~!
Bam!
Morgan's leg snapped up, his kick slamming into the creature's twisted arm. The limb snapped back violently, redirected toward the sky.
And then—
Booooom~!
The projectiles detonated overhead, ripping the clouds apart with a deafening roar like fireworks in a festival.
Naturally, the alien's eyes shot upward toward the explosions in suprise.
But while its gaze was fixed, Morgan slipped low, blurring as he swiped in behind, aiming at the back of its knees.
Twack!
His strike cracked against the giant's knees.
"Ghick!?"
A grunt resounded as it legs buckled. The massive alien lunching forward, dropping hard toward the pavement.
Before it could recover, Morgan had already appeared to its flank, with his elbow already approaching from that angle—
Krckkk!
The blow slammed into the alien's temple.
"Guoh!"
A guttural cry burst from its throat as its body reeled sideways, toppling like a felled tree.
Thud!
The ground shook as the creature crashed onto its side, motionless for the moment.
"Haah… haah."
It wasn't until the alien hit the ground that Morgan staggered a step back, his chest rising and falling in light pants.
Eyes shut, he stood motionless.
Every move he'd made… pure instinct. And yet, it confirmed what he already suspected.
"Huh? Did somebody already take care of it?"
He heard a voice, a tone he breifly recognized. One that came from the white-haired male he saw across the street.
That person must have intervened before Morgan arrived, but didn't finish the job.
Luckily, there was smoke around, so without a word, he turned and began walking away.
Tap! Tap!
Just as he did,
"Hey, wait up, are you the one that did this? Who are you."
The man's voice cut closer now, perhaps already hunting for him, and when Morgan tilted his head just slightly,
He was just right behind, staring at him from the hazy black smoke. However, a faint smile curved Morgan's lips.
And as the smoke thickened, it swallowed his figure whole, erasing him from sight.
***
[Ting!]
[You have been chosen as a member of the New World Friend Group.]
[Friend Group Initializing…]
"...?"
After evading Zapp Renfro, darting his way to the top of the building, watching police slowly arrive to clean up the place,
His chest still rose and fell steady when a flicker of light intruded into his vision.
A dark panel with a white outline shimmered before him, words scrawled across it in neat, feathery strokes.
~ [Notice] ~
[Not a Pendragon joined the Friend Group]
[Silent Wind joined the Friend Group]
[God of In-between joined the Friend Group]
'What's this..?'
Morgan tilted his head. This was not a superpower, was it? No. Morgan didn't think so.
Opening the interface, it looked like any social media platform. The typical feed, message, and call functions.
[God of In-between: The hell's this crap?]
[Silent Wind: What is this, I wonder?]
[Not a Pendragon: Hello?]
Naturally, at first, the atmosphere around the group was strange. Tense even.
Looking at this strange technology again, it really might be some sort of advanced technology.
Well, aliens existed.
He couldn't bring himself to be surprised much. Still, seeing as the group went silent, Morgan steeled himself,
Just as he was about to input—
[God of In-between: What sort of exorcism technique is this?]
[Silent Wind: I was just about to ask. What sort of Astral Power is this?]
Morgan muttered with a blink.
Say what?
Exorcism technique? Astral power, that was the first he heard of this.
Were they also superpowers of this world?
Well, using his memories of the 'Sacred Texts' from his former world, he sort of understood Exorcism.
Astral power, however, eludes him.
[Not a Pendragon: Quick question then. Do you guys live in Hellsalem's Lot too?]
[Silent Wind: Hellsalem's lot?]
***
Far away—or perhaps in another world entirely—
Millavair Lou Nebulis VIII
A woman of striking beauty, her long blonde hair spilling like silk over her pristine robe of white and gold, red eyes glimmering beneath a somber gaze.
Tassels swayed as she shifted upon her throne, the chamber lit warmly by firelight and polished marble.
She sat on her throne in her warmly lit throne room, contemplating as usual, like every other day.
Naturally, if it weren't about how to make the Sovereignty great again and how to make the empire fall, then she wouldn't be contemplating in the first place.
Having bolstered her forces,
she had sent her forces of Astral Mages against the Soldiers of the Empire, who dared to build a reactor right at the border.
Of all things.
If she followed a line of reasoning, it wasn't hard to deduce the Empire's goal.
Thus, she didn't hold back and sent her strongest unit to crush this reactor before the Empire could use it to their advantage.
Yes. All of it was as it should be.
Until—
[Ting!]
A sharp tone rang in the stillness, and before her eyes appeared a panel, black and feathered in pale light.
[You have been chosen as a member of the New World Friend Group.]
[Friend Group Initializing…]
Her brow furrowed.
"...What?"
What was this thing in front of her?
Astral power?
No… it bore no resonance of Astral Power or anything she was familiar with except… the Empire's technology.
Her brows knitted even further.
But then, reading its text, she let out a somber sigh, somehow tinged with disbelief.
"Whoever plays tricks upon me, I demand you show yourself this instant."
Naturally, she was alone in her throne room. Yet she spoke aloud, and even went so far as to weave her Astral Power.
The air rippled forward, spreading outward through walls, floors, and the surrounding. However,
Nothing.
There was also no sign of suspicious movement for several hundred meters from her throne room.
—Other than the Astral Mages keeping watch outside the throne room.
This prompted her brows to knit together.
"Just what is this…"
In the end, she realized speculations would lead nowhere. Thus, she turned her attention back to the panel, steeling herself—
And then, letters popped up on the interface again.
[Not a Pendragon: Quick question then. Do you guys live in Hellsalem's Lot too?]
Hellsalem's Lot?
Mira obviously had extensive knowledge about this world and its nations.
In the library, she even had a map of the entire world.
Even when she was younger, she went on missions across nations and all.
But she hadn't heard one as unique as…
Hellsalem's Lot.
[God of In-between: Hellsalem's Lot? The hell is that place?]
[Not a Pendragon: Eh? New York? That particular city where a gate opened and then aliens and other creatures flooded out?]
[God of In-between: You talking about Magano or something?]
[Not a Pendragon: Eh? Magano?]
[God of In-between: Hah?]
A strange silence befell the group on the weird interface.
This brought a thoughtful expression to the empress's features.
It wasn't strange.
Magano, Hellsalem's Lot, New York. They were terms she had never once heard before.
And these people don't seem to be telling lies.
Her gut feeling as a former assassin told her that much.
[Not a Pendragon: Wait a moment. 'In-between.' Question: Have you heard of extraterrestrial sightings?]
[God of In-between: Heard? No. I haven't just heard them, I've battled them, if you're talking about Kegare.]
Kegare… that's a new term,
Mira's fingers hovered over the throne armrest as she catalogued the name.
[Not a Pendragon: Kegare? Fought them? I thought we had a peace treaty with them?]
[God of In-between: Peace treaty? With them? Those abominations? You must be joking; I almost laughed at how funny it is.]
[God of In-between: Be serious.]
With all that said, her thoughts were confirmed.
These two were surely, no, all three of them were surely from different worlds, she mused.
But how?
Was this then her ancestors' doing?
Surely, with how powerful their ancestor is, she should be able to reach out to other worlds, or so Mira thought.
But even then, she was skeptical if that was even the case.
If so, then this would have been common for quite a while. So, she ruled it out.
Her ancestors were powerful.
Certainly.
But this was different.
[Not a Pendragon: Aaaa. So, that's the case, as hard as it is to believe it.]
Ding~
Seeing the message from the 'Not a Pendragon' user, she was prompted.
[Silent Wind: I believe Mr. Pendragon has come to the same conclusion as I.]
Just in case they reached the same conclusion.
[Not a Pendragon: So, 'Wind' too?]
[God of In-between: You all should stop being roundabout about this and spill the damn thing out.]
[Not a Pendragon: Well, simple. I suspect the three of us are from entirely three different worlds.]
[Not a Pendragon: Now, before you make a fuss, I searched the terms Magano and Kegare. And I received zero results.]
[Not a Pendragon: Kegare, on the other hand, translates to 'Impurity.' However, for my side already being entwined with Supernaturals…]
[Not a Pendragon: If there were to be Impurities here, then it'd have at least been recorded on the internet or the Union's database.]
[Not a Pendragon: Then again, 'Wind' also claimed something about Astral Power, which makes me believe so…]
[Not a Pendragon: Though it's hard to believe.]
Mira was highly satisfied with this explanation.
She had to praise them for their insights and even brought concrete evidence.
***
Morgan exhaled a long, weary breath.
"Haah."
Though he was new to this world, however, with quick searches, he was able to ground his speculations.
'Kegare.'
That term was Japanese.
He'd asked 'Noogle' what it was and it told him that, which was different, that is, a Japanese word.
But putting that aside, he searched if Japan was undergoing supernatural phenomena like NYC.
No.
Results came out denying his speculations, which must mean—
"…Different worlds," he muttered under his breath.
Alien technology.
He had already lost his cool much earlier, but now it was slightly numb.
Of course, Morgan was still in disbelief; however, it was more manageable, since knowing of aliens' existence and whatnot.
[Not a Pendragon: Well then, I believe we should know ourselves better before we continue.]
[God of In-between: Why the hell should we do that?]
[Silent Wind: Yes. I believe it would be wise.]
Morgan exhaled through his nose, nodding faintly. At the very least 'Silent Wind' seemed reasonable.
[Not a Pendragon: Alright. My name's Morgan Sinclair. Male. Seventeen. A superpowered resident of Hellsalem's Lot. Pleased to meet you all.]
[Silent Wind: It is good to meet you, Mr. Morgan, though, dare I say. You're younger than I expected.]
[God of In-between: …So I've been talking to a runt this whole time?]
Morgan's lips twitched.
This 'God of In-between' user and their chuuni ass User ID had the nerves to sneer at him, when….
Wait, though—
Speaking of User ID. His, too, was just as…
'Not a Pendragon.'
"Yeah. You didn't have to rub this in my face."
Morgan clicked his tongue under his breath.
[Silent Wind: Then allow me. I am Millavair Lou Nebulis VIII, 8th Ruler of the Nebulis Sovereignty. Pleased to make your acquaintance.]
He froze. 'Silent Wind' was actually an Empress?
Though he couldn't help but notice she'd skipped clarifying her age and gender, but her name gave enough away.
A woman. Probably older. But how old? He doesn't know. Too many unknowns.
He shook his head.
It was pretty much pointless to speculate.
[God of In-between: A ruler and a brat, huh? Fine. One of the Twelve Guardians, and the Sixth Head of the Unomiya House. Unomiya Tenna: the Kijin stands before you.]
Morgan blinked, slowly.
[Not a Pendragon: …Is that so?]
[God of In-between: Mhm? "Brat," what do you mean by that?]
[Not a Pendragon: I said nothing. Besides, I have a name, call me 'Morgan'.]
[God of In-between: No. Calling you a runt and brat fits you more. Stick with it.]
[Not a Pendragon: Tsk.]