Although that world had monsters known as "Possessed" who were executed by the Church.
They were originally born as ordinary Humans, but one day their bodies would suddenly begin to rot. If left untreated, they would die before long. Even so, the Church still spent money to purchase living "Possessed" and carry out an execution called purification.
It all sounded like something straight out of the Middle Ages. At first, he still held a faint hope that maybe Diablos truly existed. But when he was ten years old, that hope was shattered.
At the age of ten, he encountered a case of Possession. After researching it for a month, he came to a conclusion. Well… it was simply a hereditary disease.
At the time, he had even managed to cure an Elf who had been Possessed and was believed to be already dead.
Originally, he intended to just send the Elf on her way. However, she insisted on repaying him. Thinking it would be cool to have an organization of Eminences in Shadow, he casually made one up. He claimed that a secret group called the Cult of Diablos ruled the world from the shadows and that everything happening to the "Possessed" was the work of that cult.
He gave the Elf the name "Alpha," founded an organization called Shadow Garden, and planned to trick them into playing his chuunibyou fantasy with him.
Three years later, the organization had grown to seven members. They called themselves the "Seven Shadows."
And that same year, his lie was exposed.
At the time, the seven of them came to him and said they wanted to go elsewhere to continue developing their fight against the Cult of Diablos. But he understood what they truly meant.
They had already realized that the Cult of Diablos was completely made up.
Still, considering that he was the benefactor who had cured them, and the bond they had built over the years, they were willing to keep playing along with his chuunibyou fantasy.
After all, there's no way a Cult of Diablos actually exists, right? (laughs)
Until two years ago, the only things he could do were ask them to help him stage his Eminence in Shadow roleplay, or jump out whenever terrorists appeared, spout lines that even he didn't fully understand, and then eliminate them.
It looked cool on the surface, but in reality it was just him indulging in his own fantasy.
Whenever the Seven Shadows encountered difficulties, they would also call him over using excuses related to fighting the Cult of Diablos. Sometimes, when they couldn't figure out how to justify involving him while staying true to the setting, they would even revise the background of the Cult of Diablos.
Thanks to that, the Cult's lore—now on who knows which version—has evolved far beyond the original story.
At first, it was just a secret organization hiding in the shadows and coveting the power of Diablos. Now the story says that the three heroes who defeated Diablos were actually created by them, that Diablos himself was merely their experimental subject, and that they manipulate terrorist organizations across various nations.
If an organization like that really existed, it would be perfect. Then the Eminence in Shadow would have a truly legitimate reason to appear.
Unfortunately, it's all made up.
His other identity, Shadow, even ended up on a wanted list because of helping out.
But… that's pretty cool, isn't it?
He once thought he might never get a genuine moment worthy of an Eminence in Shadow's dramatic entrance.
Until a year and a half ago.
That day, the earth trembled violently. Magical Power surged across the sky. Magical beasts in the forests fled in panic, and a tsunami thousands of meters high rose along the coasts.
That day, everyone across the three worlds witnessed a miracle.
The worlds… fused.
With barely any casualties, the three worlds merged together perfectly, as if they had always been one.
The fusion itself did not destroy the world. However, the many factions that came together with the merging of the three worlds nearly did.
Fortunately, just as tensions between the various factions were reaching their peak and a massive war between the three worlds was about to erupt, an invasion arrived from beyond the world.
Yes. It was fortunate.
An invasion being considered luck instead of disaster sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?
But that was the truth.
If the invasion from beyond the world had not occurred, every civilization in this world would have vanished in the war that almost broke out between the three realms.
That external invasion gave the three worlds a reason to unite.
The World Battlefield is the place where this new world now fights against the invaders from beyond.
Although ordinary people of the three worlds should be grateful that the invasion redirected the pressure caused by the world's fusion outward, preventing the world from collapsing under its own internal conflicts, that doesn't mean it is truly a good thing.
Since the war began, forces from every side have suffered casualties and injuries. Combined with various other factors, the global situation has undergone a massive transformation.
After more than a year of adjustment, a large international academy was established on Itogami Island, an artificial island in World No. 2.
Despite having absolutely no educational history, the moment the school was founded, factions from all three worlds began sending their offspring, those still in their formative years, to study there.
Their goal was to foster relationships among the next generation of powerful families and factions, allowing the three worlds to truly integrate in the future.
And in World No. 3, he was merely the son of a minor noble family.
Since the academy itself was originally a school for nobles, and he happened to know a few people, he easily enrolled as a second-year high school student at the academy.
Although Itogami Island in World No. 2 originally seemed to exist for research related to Demons, ever since this academy was established, no one mentioned that purpose anymore.
After all, there are many powerful Therianthropes and Devils in both World No. 1 and World No. 2. Bringing that up would only harm unity.
He was grateful for the fusion of the worlds, grateful that it had provided such a perfect stage for the birth of an Eminence in Shadow.
Just think about it. Devils, Angels, Gods, Vampires… with beings like these around, true peace inside the world is impossible, even with pressure from external enemies.
Take the Fourth Primogenitor from urban legends as an example. According to the stories, he is a ruthless killer who drinks a cup of virgin blood every day. He commands twelve Beast Vassals that embody calamities and possesses enough power to destroy the world alone.
How cool is that?
If someone could tell him where the Fourth Primogenitor was, he would rush over immediately and kill him, using that moment as the second official debut of the Eminence in Shadow in the New World.
All kinds of villains, all kinds of world-ending crises. Just thinking about it made him excited.
After all, even with his strength, there are at least three people in the New World whose power he cannot confidently judge whether he could defeat.
Because this new world truly allowed him to become an Eminence in Shadow, a few months ago he had Alpha and the others gather the members of Shadow Garden. In total, more than seven hundred people assembled.
Standing on the stage and looking down at the crowd below, he used language fitting the setting of the game and told them that he no longer wanted to play chuunibyou games.
Most people probably could not understand what he said. But he believed that the Seven Shadows, who had grown up with him since childhood and knew his true personality, understood exactly what he meant.
Just like the things he once said to Gamma. Ordinary people might think his words sounded deep, as if he were carrying some heavy burden.
But Gamma had probably already translated it automatically in her mind. After all, Gamma is extremely intelligent.
"You no longer need to report this intelligence to me. (I already said I do not plan to keep playing chuunibyou games.)
We are no longer walking the same path. Take this chance to lead the Garden into the light. Remember, flowers cannot bloom in darkness. (It must have been hard finding employees to play along with me. I will not trouble you anymore.)
The darkness and sins of this world are enough for me to bear alone. You neither need to nor should face them. (I am going to become a real Eminence in Shadow. You really cannot help with that.)"
That is right. He had graduated from chuunibyou.
He intended to separate the Shadow from before the world fusion and the Shadow that existed after it.
Jumping out everywhere and speaking in riddles used to be fun, but fake things were still fake. From the very beginning, there was never any Cult of Diablos. The Kingdom never issued a bounty for the cult. Instead, they placed a bounty on him, which proved the Kingdom had not been fooled at all.
Thinking about it carefully, that whole period was basically a black history.
Now look at this new world. On the surface it appears calm, but dangerous currents are moving beneath. If he missed this stage that was so perfect for the appearance of an Eminence in Shadow, he would regret it for an entire year.
Now that he could truly become an Eminence in Shadow, why keep playing chuunibyou games?
It was not as if he had never thought about bringing them along, but Alpha and the others had already been paying out of their own pockets to hire people to play along with his chuunibyou games. If he dragged them into real danger for the sake of his own dream, he would look down on himself.
Failing to save strangers he had never met was one thing.
Failing to save close friends who had helped him pursue his dream was something completely different.
Still, he might have gone a little overboard earlier. Gamma and the others had looked like they were barely holding back their laughter.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly, left in a hurry, and even softened his tone before leaving. He was sure Gamma understood what he meant.
"All I can do is take away the darkness on the road as you walk toward the light. (If you need help, call me.)
And Gamma, think carefully about what I told you before. (For the sake of our friendship, do not laugh. At least wait until after I leave.)"
While walking toward the classroom, Cid thought to himself.