The moment Rika slammed her staff into the ground, the world around us twisted like a funhouse mirror on steroids. Colors bled into one another, the sky turned inside out, and I swear I heard a choir of chanting goats.
When the chaos finally stopped, I was standing in... well, I didn't know where I was, but it definitely wasn't Hoshikawa City anymore.
"Where the hell—" I started, but Rika cut me off with a casual wave of her staff.
"Welcome to the Demon Realm, Takeshi," she said, her tone way too smug for someone who just casually uprooted my entire existence. "Home sweet home."
I took a shaky step forward, trying to process what I was seeing. The ground was a patchwork of blackened stone and glowing crimson veins, like molten lava was flowing just beneath the surface. The sky wasn't a sky at all—it was more like a swirling vortex of dark clouds and eerie, purple light. Jagged mountains loomed in the distance, and far off, I could make out the silhouette of a towering black castle that screamed "evil lair."
"Okay," I said, turning to Rika with what I hoped was a reasonable tone, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"
"Relax," she said, brushing a strand of hair from her face like this was just another Tuesday. "You're alive, aren't you? That's a good start."
"Barely! You just teleported us to—" I gestured wildly at the hellscape around us. "—this! What even is this place?"
"The Demon Realm," she repeated, like that cleared anything up. "Specifically, we're in the Outer Territories. It's where all the rejects and lesser demons live."
"Rejects?!" I yelped, suddenly very aware of the glowing red eyes staring at us from the shadows. "Why are we here instead of, I don't know, somewhere safe?!"
"Because someone decided to awaken their powers in the middle of a busy street," she said, giving me a pointed look. "Do you have any idea how much magical energy you just released? Every demon in a fifty-mile radius felt that."
"That's not my fault!" I snapped. "I didn't even know I had powers until five minutes ago!"
"Yeah, well, congratulations. You're a walking magical beacon now." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Which means we need to keep moving before something bigger than a Demon General shows up."
As if on cue, a low growl rumbled through the air. I froze, slowly turning toward the source of the sound. Emerging from the shadows was a creature straight out of my worst nightmares—something that looked like a cross between a wolf, a centipede, and my sleep paralysis demon. Its eyes glowed red, and drool dripped from its fanged maw as it stalked toward us.
"Uh, Rika?" I whispered. "What is that?"
"That," she said, summoning her staff with a flick of her wrist, "is a Dire Hellhound."
"Dire?! What makes it dire?!"
"You'll find out if it eats you. Now stay back."
Before I could argue, the hellhound lunged. Rika was faster. She raised her staff, and a barrier of crimson energy formed around us, stopping the creature mid-leap. It snarled, clawing at the barrier, but Rika didn't even flinch.
"Do you see why I need you now, Takeshi?" she said, her voice calm but edged with steel. "The Demon Realm is a dangerous place, and I can't fight every battle on my own."
"Wait, so this whole 'servant' thing isn't just some weird power trip?" I asked, inching closer to her as the hellhound continued its assault.
"Of course not." She glanced at me, her eyes serious. "The Demon Realm is in chaos. The Generals are fighting to take my throne, the lesser demons are running wild, and the balance of power is collapsing. I need someone I can trust to help me fix this mess."
I blinked. "And you picked me? The guy who can barely remember to do his laundry?"
"You're more than just a laundry procrastinator," she said, smirking. "You have potential. That blast you fired earlier? That wasn't beginner-level magic, Takeshi. That was raw, untrained power. If you can harness it, you'll be unstoppable."
"Unstoppable sounds great and all," I said, eyeing the hellhound nervously, "but maybe we could focus on not dying first?"
Rika rolled her eyes. "Fine. But pay attention—this is what real magic looks like."
She slammed her staff into the ground, and the air around us crackled with energy. The runes on her staff glowed brighter, and a circle of intricate symbols appeared beneath her feet. She muttered something under her breath, too fast for me to catch, and suddenly, the barrier expanded outward, blasting the hellhound into the air.
It let out a pained howl before disintegrating into ash.
I stared at the spot where the creature had been, my jaw practically on the floor. "Okay," I said after a long pause, "that was... terrifying. But also kind of cool."
"Kind of?" Rika scoffed, flipping her hair dramatically. "Please. That was amazing."
I couldn't help but laugh, despite the lingering fear in my chest. "Alright, fine. It was amazing. Happy now?"
"Very." She turned, motioning for me to follow. "Come on. We need to reach the castle before nightfall."
"The castle?" I asked, glancing at the ominous silhouette in the distance. "You mean that castle?"
"Yep. That's my home."
"Of course it is," I muttered, trudging after her. "This day just keeps getting better."
As we walked, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd just stepped into a game I wasn't prepared to play. But for better or worse, I was here now. And judging by the way Rika's eyes lit up when she talked about "fixing the Demon Realm," there was no way she was letting me back out.
Guess I'd better get used to it.