[Altair Brando]
My body cut through the sky like a meteor, plummeting through the air before colliding violently with the ground.
The impact opened web-shaped fissures in the ground. My blood-red eyes landed on a woman with an attractive figure and white hair, kneeling in the middle of a street devastated by flames.
The silver-haired young woman was surrounded by five skeletons, each armed with a spear and a sword.
She raised her trembling hand, and a black sphere began to form above her palm. If I wasn't mistaken, that sphere was a basic spell, without much destructive power.
When that thought crossed my mind, the girl fired a barrage of shadow projectiles, hitting one of the skeletons and shattering it into dust.
However, the remaining undead advanced in her direction.
Hmm... as a first act in this play..., I suppose the hero saving the damsel is a bit of a cliché, but it's always a good choice.
A faint smile forming on my lips, I advanced in her direction.
The skeleton raised its arm, its bones crackling with a hollow sound, like dried castanets. The beautiful young woman widened her eyes upon seeing the brittle blade gleaming over her head.
"Help me... Lev..." She called out an unknown name, her voice trembling with terror.
But before the blade could descend upon her, my leather boot struck against the bony skull, shattering it into several pieces.
"What!?" The girl exclaimed in shock, observing the fragments scattered across the ground.
Damsel rescue mission... accomplished.
[Watch out for the fall!]
With Nahida's voice echoing in my mind, my eyes turned downward, seeing gravity pulling me inexorably. Thanks to my personal goddess of wisdom's warning, I rotated my body and slid my feet over the ground.
Nahida... superhero landing accomplished.
[Superhero landing!? What a fascinating expression. I'll register it for future use.]
Teaching a bit of modern culture to the goddess of wisdom, I stood up and looked at the remaining skeletal beings.
"Gentlemen, it's an honor." I bowed in a slight reverence before the skeletons. "I apologize, but..." I straightened my body, sketching a smile. "You're practically just bones."
[...]
"..."
This is a very serious audience.
That was a predictable introductory joke to open the stage curtains. It also served to relieve some of the tension I was feeling. Even though these skeletons weren't particularly strong, I was nervous.
I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart.
[Two enemies approaching from the left flank.]
Hearing Nahida, I opened my eyes and stepped back a few paces, dodging the blade that passed close to my face.
As I stepped on the fragments of the shattered skull, I noticed a chipped sword that gleamed faintly among the debris. With a fluid movement, I kicked the weapon with the tip of my foot, making the blade spin in the air until the hilt landed in the palm of my hand.
At that moment, I was grateful for two years of fencing classes.
Why did I ever enroll in a fencing class? A bit embarrassing, but I was participating in a play of "The Three Musketeers"... and I was quite clumsy holding a wooden saber.
Learning is never too much... even if in my class there were more children than adults.
Cough! Cough!
Burying that embarrassing memory in the back of my mind, I placed one hand on my back while raising the chipped sword.
Clack-Clack!
The sinister sound of scraping bones echoed when the second skeleton advanced, lunging with its chipped spear.
I stepped to the side, dodging the spear's point. In the next movement, I leaned my body forward, thrusting with my blade that cut through the air in a silver blur, penetrating the empty eye socket of the skull with a satisfying crack.
Leaving the sword lodged in the skull, I used my free hand to grab the spear's shaft. I pulled the weapon from the bony hands and, holding it firmly, rotated my body in a fluid movement before hurling it. The spear cut through the air like a deadly projectile, piercing through the third skeleton's torso.
With the sound of bones tumbling down, the fourth, fifth, and sixth skeletons advanced from both sides.
In an instant, their blades collided against my body.
The two swords struck my shoulder, while the spear's point collided with my abdomen. But instead of piercing, the metal of the weapons twisted upon hitting my armor.
Apparently, my second skin wasn't that fragile. But unfortunately, it's time to end the initial tutorial, my dear skeletal friends.
I took a deep breath and pushed the weapons away with a brusque gesture.
Taking a step back, I flexed my fingers, making my nails elongate like claws.
"This is my stage, gentlemen... and it's time for you to exit the scene!"
I swung my hand, the claws tearing through the air and creating five wind blades that destroyed the three skeletons, reducing them to fragments and making the bones fly in all directions like a macabre rain.
"..."
The silence that followed was broken only by the sound of debris falling like raindrops.
Honestly, I hadn't expected this potency.
That was a bit unexpected.
[Your claws possess truly fascinating penetrating power! They can pierce through 20mm thick steel as if it were paper.]
Whew~~~!
I couldn't help but let out a mental whistle. By Nahida's estimate, it was as if these claws possessed almost the potency of an anti-materiel rifle.
While processing this, I heard a voice behind me.
"W-who are... you?"
I turned around to find the girl staring at me with wide eyes. She got up from the ground and took a few steps back.
Now that I was close to her, it was undeniable that she was beautiful.
Her long white hair fell like a silver cascade, and her amber-golden eyes shone with curiosity. She wore a black jacket with golden and orange details, a white frilled shirt with a red tie, and a short white skirt with black touches, while her orange tights hugged her long legs perfectly.
Looking at the beautiful young woman, a gentle smile formed on my lips.
"Pleasure to meet you..." I said, bowing while bringing my hand to my chest. "I am Altair Brando!"
"Brando?" She raised an eyebrow, adjusting her clothes with an elegant gesture. "That's not a surname from any known magus family."
"I'm not a magus..." I replied, tilting my head. "Excuse me, but what's your name?"
Hearing my question, she hesitated for a few seconds before opening her pink lips. "Olga Marie Animusphere." She extended her hand in my direction, with the back facing me.
Noble role-playing. I can play the part of a gentleman, my lady.
Gently, I held the tips of her fingers, which were cold as porcelain. I lifted her hand and pressed my lips against her pale skin just enough to leave the warmth of my breath on the back of her hand before pulling away. "It's a beautiful name."
"Obviously." Puffing out her chest, Olga tossed her hair back with a proud gesture.
[She's quite a confident girl.]
I couldn't help but mentally agree with Nahida.
But in the next moment, Olga's expression became more serious. "How?" She crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them upward, making the fabric of the shirt stretch, outlining the contour of her generous curves.
I blinked, a bit confused. "You'll have to be more specific, Olga."
"Hmm... how did you manage to become a demi-servant? A non-magus would never have that ability, much less be in this place." Olga narrowed her golden eyes in my direction.
"Demi-servant!?" I touched my lips with my finger. "I have no idea what that is." Honestly, I was confused.
"You don't know?" She seemed incredulous.
I shook my head negatively.
Olga let out a heavy sigh. "Demi-servants are humans who absorb the Saint Graphs of Heroic Spirits, acquiring their abilities in the process. But you..." Her eyes scanned me analytically. "You seem different."
"Ah! That explains a lot." I clapped one palm against the other. "I don't think I'm exactly a demi-servant... but perhaps I'm the closest thing to what I actually am."
I wasn't exactly a pure servant, but I also wasn't completely human anymore, although I felt that a part of me retained my humanity.
In other words, I had no idea what I was.
Not wanting to waste mental energy on this, I decided to ignore it for now.
Feeling lighter, I sketched a smile and turned my attention back to Olga.
"Now, about how I ended up in this place... I have no idea. I just opened my eyes in this ruined city, ma chérie."
"Strange." She furrowed her eyebrows, placing her slender fingers on her chin. "By any chance, do you know which Heroic Spirit is merged with you?"
"Heroic Spirit!?" I let out a light laugh, covering my mouth. "In my case, it would be a Divine Spirit."
"Divine Spirit!?" She exclaimed, widening her eyes. "Are you serious?"
"More serious than an acute myocardial infarction."
Olga massaged her head. "Which divine spirit?"
"Sun Wukong." I sketched a proud smile.
"Wait..." She raised her hand, mouth agape. "Are you talking about the Victorious Fighting Buddha?"
"Hmm... I think so, but from my memories, the titles of King of Monsters, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, or Monkey King also aren't wrong." I rubbed my chin thoughtfully.
"This is incredible!" Olga exclaimed, almost punching the air with excitement. "A first-rate Divine Spirit! With your help, we can resolve this singularity easily."
"Singularity?" I tilted my head, confused.
"Seriously?" She rolled her eyes, but the animated gleam remained. "Singularities are spaces outside the temporal axis, like ruptures in the timeline."
[I understand... it would be as if the timeline branched from an event that unfolds differently from what was predetermined or what happened in the original reality.] Her voice sounded curious in my head. [It's like a tree: the main trunk represents the original timeline, but when something different happens at a specific point... a new branch grows, creating a parallel reality.]
Ah! Wouldn't that be a... "Temporal divergence, right?"
"Technically, yes." She seemed surprised by my deduction. Thank the goddess of wisdom in my head. "If this singularity isn't corrected, it can stabilize as a new timeline, threatening Human History."
I blinked, impressed. Apparently, this universe was more complex than I imagined.
"As director of Chaldea's Security Organization, an organization of the Clock Tower to correct temporal anomalies, my job is to eliminate these singularities." Her amber eyes were fixed on mine, not looking away for a single second.
My head spun from the overload of information. An entire organization dedicated to fixing flaws in time?
Thank goodness Nahida was handling the information overload.
"Explaining everything would take time." She raised her hand, crossing it over her breasts while staring at me. "For now, we have bigger concerns. I'm grateful that you saved me, but... could you help me correct this singularity?" The words that came from her pink, moist lips had a slightly hesitant tone.
If it were my former self, there was a chance I'd refuse.
It was too dangerous for a simple son of a prostitute who did theater and supported his twin little sister. But my new self isn't exactly the type to ignore a threat to humanity.
I guess being part of it helps a bit with that decision.
"Sure." I sketched a smile, rubbing my neck. "It doesn't seem like something I can ignore."
"Excellent!" Olga smiled, but before she could continue, a new voice echoed.
"Director! Are you okay?"
Another person... who could it be?
I tilted my head, observing two figures running in our direction.
=====★=====★=====★=====
A/N: I'm going to try to develop Olga's character a bit more compared to the original work, at least in this volume, because a woman with beautiful thighs shouldn't just stay in the background.
Don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review or drop a comment to motivate me.
(Olga Marie - Character Image)