"Oh God, my head hurts. What the hell just happened?" Ken groaned in pain as he looked around. However, instead of the ceremonial hall, or his car, he found himself in the middle of an unknown forest. "Where the hell am I? Am I dreaming right now?"
"I wish you were, Ken, but if you're dreaming, then we're sharing the same nightmare." The voice of Shyla suddenly appeared from behind him. His wife hugged him as if her life depended on it, and even though he was still confused, he instinctively hugged her back. Seemingly overwhelmed by everything, the young woman began to cry.
"Hey, hey, everything is going to be alright, my love. Please don't cry. Isn't today supposed to be the best day of our lives? Let's find out just where exactly this is, and then, I believe there is still that party I owe you before our honeymoon." Ken did his best to reassure Shyla and her sobs did indeed lessen.
"I'm afraid that isn't as simple as you think. According to the System I activated, we aren't even on Earth anymore."
"System? Activate? What are you talking about?"
# Summoners System activating, please wait #
"Summoners System? What the fuck is going on?" Ken muttered in disbelief.
"Don't you remember, darling? We had our wedding, but then that bitch appeared out of nowhere and banished us from Earth. We were lucky enough to end up together, but I have no idea where our friends are.
"I woke up a few minutes ago, but you seemed to be out of it. I was worried you were injured, so I tried looking for something that might help. When I asked for help, my System came to me." Shyla filled her husband in.
"Huh? Wait, are you saying all of that really happened? Does that mean that we have been isekaied like in those novels and manga? No way this could happen to us." Ken instinctively denied such a possibility.
"But this is exactly what happened to us, we are in another world. Just like you have your Summoners System, I received the System of Eternal Wisdom. While you were out, it filled me in about this new world. I feel like I know more about this world than I ever knew about Earth." Shyla reassured Ken that as crazy as it sounded, this was unfortunately the reality of their situation.
"That sounds… handy. What else can it do?" Ken wasn't completely convinced yet, but remembering how he had seemingly summoned Galatris, he couldn't completely refute the possibility. It certainly would explain the talking voice in his head.
"Aside from the knowledge it already passed on to me, it seems capable of all sorts of things, but many of those options are currently locked. It says that my Cultivation Realm isn't high enough yet. But enough about me, your System seems more useful in our current predicament. You should activate your user interface to get a better understanding of it." Shyla advised.
"Activate my user interface?" Ken repeated, still confused, yet the next moment his vision turned blurry and a game-like interface appeared before his eyes.
# Greetings, host. I'm your Summoners System #
# I will be your companion on your journey to master the magical path of summoning #
# I have noticed that you have found yourself in a hostile location #
# Luckily, I have prepared a welcome gift for you. I will assign you and your Empress with personal guards, allowing you to grow stronger! #
# Please choose one of the following packages:
#1. Supreme Holy Guards
#2. Supreme Demonic Guards
#3. Supreme Dragon Guards
#4. Supreme Phoenix Guards
#5. Supreme Elemental Guards
'What the hell?' Ken was flabbergasted. He briefly browsed through the options, learning that each of them contained a dozen beings of different races. Unsure what to do, he opted to ask his wife.
"My love, my System seems to have prepared some guards for us. It told me to choose between Archangels, Fallen-Archangels, Divine Dragons, Divine Phoenixes, or Divine Elemental Guards. Do you have any preference?" Ken asked softly, still hugging his wife tightly.
"That's great. My System seems to be mostly supportive from what I saw so far. Let's see, according to the knowledge I've been granted, Archangels should be the safest choice. They are a race of beings that are well liked by the other races, so if anyone finds us, we might avoid unnecessary fighting." Shyla answered after some thinking.
"Sounds great. Alright, System, I choose the Supreme Holy Guards!"
# Your wish is my command, Host #
#Summoning 12x 16-Winged Archangels, and 4x 18-Winged Archangels #
Instantly, 16 blinding lights descended from the sky, landing in front of the couple. When the light faded, 16 majestic golden-winged Angels became visible. All of them kneeled in unison and addressed the two. "We greet his Majesty the Emperor and her Majesty the Empress."
"Emperor and Empress?" Ken asked in confusion. "Why are you calling us that?"
A male 18-Winged Archangel raised his head. "Master, you're destined to become the Emperor over the other Races. While you might be weak now, we still need to pay you the respect your future self deserves."
Before Ken could comprehend the situation, the Angels surrounded the two of them in a circle formation. They did so to shield them from potential danger. As he looked in the direction the Angels faced, he noticed three familiar looking men approaching them.
"Oh my God, Ken, it's you! Are you alright? We saw light descend here, so we came to investigate. I'm so glad to have found you and Shyla." David yelled from a distance. Next to him were Richard Bestial and Kerum Primus Soldum, Ken's other two groomsmen.
"Who are all these… people?" Kerum asked as he pointed at the Archangels. They had stopped their approach, since they were afraid of the menacing looking newcomers. The fact that they had wings on their back made it clear that they weren't really human.
"These are my System's welcome gifts." Ken explained, before turning to his summons. "And those three are my friends, so please let them pass."
The male 18-Winged Archangel nodded his head and the others broke their formation, choosing to spread out around the group.
"So you have a System too? What can it do?" David asked in excitement, his eyes shining.
"Wait, does that mean you also got one? Mine introduced itself as the Summoners System. As you can see it summoned these Archangels, but it can also summon others… like Galatris… who caused our banishment from Earth."
"I know I wasn't hallucinating. So that eagle WAS real!" David exclaimed in astonishment. "Can you call him again?"
"Maybe? I didn't really have the chance to explore the ins and outs of this thing. All of this is a bit too much for me right now. I need some time to sort my brain and check all the functions before I can give a defined answer to that question." Ken answered, a bit overwhelmed with this entire situation. Still, he was happy to see all his friends, though he couldn't help but notice that Vera was nowhere to be found.
"Yes, take your time. By the way, it's not just you and me who got a System. I have the Human Emperor System, Richard has the Bestial Overlord System and Kerum has received the Golden System of Slaughter."
"Master, something is coming. Angels get ready for battle. Protect the Emperor with everything you have!" The Archangel leader commanded.
The next moment, a giant shadow rushed down from the sky.
The group watched a golden eagle descend from the sky, one that looked very familiar to Ken and David.