Kokabiel PoV
I clicked on the chat group profile to first see my status before chatting.
Profile: Kokabiel (Arthur Morgan)
Race: Archangel / ???(Data inconclusive) Titles: Angel of Stars, Guiding Light of Heaven, Twin Swords of God, Heaven's Wrath, Child of the Stars
Strength: Super Class, 12-winged Archangel Age: 3515 years
Powers: Countless, mostly based on Holy Powers and Starforce, somewhat resembles entity #$?!*&, Can't verify
World: DxD
DxD World Will's note: take this lunatic away from my world before he destroys it!
My eyes twitched as I saw the last message.
I spoke out loud. "My hand is kinda itching. Maybe I should drop a neutron star on Kuoh. Save me some trouble from watching a ridiculous plot unfold."
The status screen blinked and then changed suddenly. I had an instinctive smirk as I read the new message.
DxD World Will: Ehem. I am grateful and admire the pure and kind-hearted angel Kokabiel-sama. Please don't break the reality, my poor heart can't handle it. (ಥ﹏ಥ)
It was quite therapeutic. You have to find joy in the little things in life as Yahweh said. Or find enjoyment in the suffering of others, my personal quote.
Anyway, I better check the people I will be working with. Maybe there will be some interesting people.
I clicked on the chat icon to see what I was dealing with. There was a notification.
[Ding! 'Heaven's Wrath' has joined the chat group. The final member has joined, so the system store and task functions will become available.]
There was a moment of silence. Then a bunch of messages popped up. Apparently they were already chatting.
3rd Person PoV
[Flash Goddess: What the hell is this thing? Is this your doing, Kisuke?]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: Is this some sort of lost technology? Where's the knowledge I was promised?]
[Shadow Monarch: First I died and got a ridiculous system, now I wake up from coma and get another one! And how does it know about my powers?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality (Admin): Alright folks, settle down. This is a dimensional chat group where you can talk with people from different worlds.
I invited you all... Because I'm sick of carrying a useless goddess who does nothing but pile up debt! And the world finally took pity on my suffering and gave me a cheat!]
[Flash Goddess: A goddess? That's interesting. I never knew they existed. And different worlds, you say? How curious. That guy would love to research this blue, glowing thing.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Lady, your name literally has goddess in it!]
Kazuma stopped typing for a moment. His hands were shaking slightly.
Flash Goddess. Soul Society. Transformation and combat.
No way. No fucking way.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: WAIT. FLASH GODDESS?! SOUL SOCIETY?! ARE YOU YORUICHI SHIHŌIN?!]
[Flash Goddess: Oh? You know of me? How interesting.]
Kazuma's heart was racing. He was talking to Yoruichi. THE Yoruichi. From Bleach. One of his favorite characters.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: HOLY CRAP IT REALLY IS YOU! I can't believe this! You're real! Bleach is real!]
[Flash Goddess: Bleach? Is that some kind of cleaning product reference? How odd.]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: You mean to say there are other worlds out there? And are you the one responsible for this, Admin?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: WAIT WAIT WAIT. Girl Who Loves Reading. Archaeologist. Survived the darkness...]
His eyes widened even further.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: NICO ROBIN?! FROM ONE PIECE?!]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: ...You know my name. How?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: THIS IS INSANE! You're all real! The animes were real!]
[Shadow Monarch: Are you related to that thing who called itself god and killed me?]
Kazuma's fingers flew across the interface.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Shadow Monarch. Died and got a system. Conquered death. Oh my god. SUNG JIN-WOO?! FROM SOLO LEVELING?!]
[Shadow Monarch: ...]
[Shadow Monarch: How do you know that name?]
[Last Master of Humanity: Um... excuse me? Can you please explain why there is a blue floating screen in front of me that nobody else can see?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Last Master of Humanity! Gacha summoning! That has to be Fujimaru Ritsuka from Fate Grand Order!]
[Last Master of Humanity: Y-yes? That's me? How do you know all our names?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Aaaaahhhh! What hell have I unleashed here! Holy Cross jpg]
[Last Master of Humanity: Uh, why are you reacting like that? I'm not a demon or anything.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: You are worse than a demon, you gacha maniac! Your world is an abyss of depression! ]
He knew about the gacha hell. He suffered through it in playthroughs. The salt. The endless black keys and mapo tofu .
[Flash Goddess: Oh my, how lively. Though I'm curious how you know about us, Admin-san.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: I'M FROM JAPAN! I died and got isekai'd! In my world, you were all characters in stories! Anime, manga, light novels! This is so surreal!]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: We were... stories? In your world?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: YES! Bleach, One Piece, Solo Leveling, Fate Grand Order! I watched and read all of them!]
[Shadow Monarch: You're saying my entire life was entertainment in another world.]
The way he said it was dangerous. Very dangerous.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Uh... when you put it like that it sounds bad...]
[Shadow Monarch: It sounds exactly like what it is.]
[Flash Goddess: How fascinating. So you know our histories? Our abilities? Our secrets?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Well... some of it? I mean, I don't know EVERYTHING. Just what was shown in the stories. But yeah, basically?]
[Last Master of Humanity: That's actually really helpful! You can warn us about dangers we don't know about yet!]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Maybe? Depends on if your worlds follow the same timeline as the stories. Sometimes isekai worlds are different...]
[The Fool: ...]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Oh right! The Fool! You're Joker, right? From Persona 5? The codename gave it away! I like your style!]
[The Fool: ...I'm afraid you're mistaken. I don't know what 'Persona 5' is.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Huh? But The Fool is Joker's arcana... Wait, are you from a different Persona game?]
[The Fool: I am simply a fool. Nothing more, nothing less.]
That was cryptic. Kazuma frowned. Maybe he was wrong about that one?
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Okay, mysterious. Whatever. And Heaven's Wrath! That has to be Michael the Archangel, right? The leader of Heaven's army? The strongest angel? Pless bless this lost lamb of god with good fortune ! Wait, which world are you from, there are so many versions.]
There was no response. Heaven's Wrath remained silent.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Hello? Michael san? You there? Don't tell me you're the shy type...]
Still nothing.
[Flash Goddess: Perhaps he is busy. Or simply observing.]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: The admin claims to know us from stories. That's a significant advantage. And disadvantage.]
[Shadow Monarch: How so?]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: He knows our capabilities. Our weaknesses. Our histories. Information is power. In the wrong hands, it's a weapon.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Hey! I'm not going to use it against you! I'm a fan! I literally cried during the Marineford arc!]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: ...]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: I don't know what that is.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: OH. Right. You probably haven't gotten there yet. Uh... never mind. Forget I said anything.]
[Shadow Monarch: You know our futures.]
It wasn't a question.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Maybe? Like I said, depends if your worlds match the stories. Could be different. Could be the same. I don't know!]
[Flash Goddess: This is quite the predicament. Having someone who knows potential futures could be useful. Or catastrophic.]
[Last Master of Humanity: I think it's helpful! If the admin knows about dangers we'll face, he can warn us! That's a good thing!]
[Shadow Monarch: Or he could manipulate events to his benefit. Use his knowledge to exploit us.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT! Why is everyone so suspicious?!]
[Shadow Monarch: Because trust gets you killed.]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: He's not wrong. I've learned that lesson as well.]
[Flash Goddess: My, such cynical youngsters. Though I suppose you've earned that cynicism.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Look, I get it! You've all been through stuff! I have too! I died from a stupid tractor that wasn't even moving and got stuck with a useless goddess who maxes out debt ! Can we just try to work together?!]
[Last Master of Humanity: I think that's a good idea. Even if the admin knows things about us, that doesn't make him an enemy. Information can be used to help, not just harm.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Thank you, Ritsuka! Finally someone with common sense!]
[Flash Goddess: Very well. I'm willing to give this a chance. It's been quite dull lately anyway.]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: I'll participate. But I'll be watching carefully.]
[Shadow Monarch: Same. One wrong move and this is over.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: That's fair I guess. What about you, mysterious Fool who isn't Joker apparently?]
[The Fool: I will observe. And participate when appropriate.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: And Heaven's Wrath? Michael? You still there?]
Silence. The angel still hadn't said a word.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Okay, strong silent type. Got it. Well, let me explain what the system told me...]
Kokabiel watched nonsense stuff going on with the new members coming to terms with the concept of different worlds and the chat group with an amused smile.
He felt it. This unpredictability, the feeling of something new. It felt... Interesting.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Okay! So the system said we can help each other with missions! Complete them, earn points, buy stuff from the store!]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: What kind of missions?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Tasks that appear in our worlds ranging from simple to world-threatening. We can invite others to help for free if we're the mission holder!]
[Shadow Monarch: World-threatening. Of course. At least this one has no route...]
Before he could finish typing, his own system pinged! He chose to ignore it and saying anything.
[Flash Goddess: And the store? What's available?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Let me check... Holy crap. Skills from different worlds, weapons, potions, knowledge books, bloodlines, abilities... Prices vary wildly. Some stuff costs 10 points, some costs millions.]
[Last Master of Humanity: Bloodlines? You can change your race?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Apparently! Vampire, werewolf, dragon, angel, demon... Lots of options. Also stat boosters, skill books, equipment... Even information about other worlds!]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: Information. That's what I want. Knowledge about different realities would be invaluable.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Those are pretty cheap actually! A few hundred points each! Oh man, there's even detailed guides about your worlds! "Complete Guide to the Bleach Universe" for 500000 points! "One Piece World Compendium" for 800000 points!]
[Flash Goddess: My world's fate is for sale in a store. How surreal.]
[Shadow Monarch: This is too convenient. What's the catch?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: The catch is the missions are dangerous? That's it? The system said participation is voluntary!]
[Last Master of Humanity: So we don't have to accept missions if we don't want to?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Right! But then you don't get points. And points buy cool stuff. So...]
[Shadow Monarch: So we're incentivized to risk our lives for rewards. Standard system manipulation.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: You really hate systems, huh?]
[Shadow Monarch: I have my reasons.]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: Admin, you said you know our stories. How much do you know exactly?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Uh... depends? I watched all of Bleach, most of One Piece before I died, read Solo Leveling completely, and played through FGO's story. So I know major events, some plot points, character backgrounds...]
[Flash Goddess: You watched my entire life as entertainment.]
There was something in her tone. Not quite anger. But not amusement either.
[Advocate of Gender Equality: When you put it like that it sounds creepy! But yeah, basically? Look, in my world they were just stories! I didn't know you were REAL !]
[Shadow Monarch: But now you do. And you have information we don't have about ourselves.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: I'm not going to abuse it! I promise! I rooted for you guys! I cried when you cried! I cheered when you won!]
[Last Master of Humanity: That's... actually kind of touching? Knowing someone out there was supporting us?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: RIGHT?! Finally someone gets it! Ritsuka, you're my new favorite! Man, I ugly-cried during the Solomon singularity!]
[Last Master of Humanity: Solomon singularity? I... haven't experienced that yet.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: OH CRAP. Uh, forget I said that! Spoilers! No spoilers!]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: Too late. You've already revealed you know our futures.]
[Shadow Monarch: Which means you can manipulate events. Change outcomes. Use us.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: OR I can help you avoid bad stuff! Warn you about dangers! Give you information that saves lives!
In exchange for a little gift of store credit. I'm pretty weak compared to you guys, help me out damn it! ]
[Flash Goddess: A double-edged sword. Information always is. And you can give others store points, huh?]
[The Fool: Knowledge of the future is the most dangerous power of all. It creates certainty where uncertainty should exist.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Okay, mysterious not-Joker person. Who ARE you anyway? If you're not from Persona?]
[The Fool: Simply a fool who stumbled into something beyond his understanding. Nothing more.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: That tells me nothing!]
[The Fool: Precisely.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: AARGH! Whatever! What about you, Michael? Heaven's Wrath? You haven't said a single word! Are you the strong silent badass type? The "actions speak louder than words" angel? Please tell me you are not one of the evil versions.]
Still no response.
[Flash Goddess: Perhaps he is busy with divine matters? I saw the explanation about races in store. Angels do have responsibilities.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Yeah but this is a CHAT GROUP! With people from different worlds! How is that not interesting enough to at least say hi?!]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: Some people prefer to observe before engaging. It's a valid strategy.]
[Shadow Monarch: Or they're analyzing us. Learning our personalities and weaknesses before revealing anything about themselves.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: That's... actually pretty smart. Dammit. Fine! Be mysterious! But I'm calling you out, Michael! When you finally talk, you better have something cool to say!]
[Last Master of Humanity: Um, Admin san? You mentioned missions. Do we know when they'll appear?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: System says they'll pop up based on events in our worlds. We'll get notifications. Then we can accept or decline.]
[Flash Goddess: And if we decline?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Then nothing happens? The event proceeds normally without system interference. We just don't get rewards.]
[Shadow Monarch: Unless the event destroys our world and we all die anyway.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: WHY DO YOU ALWAYS GO TO THE WORST CASE SCENARIO?!]
[Shadow Monarch: Because in my experience, the worst case scenario happens more often than not.]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: I understand his caution. I've learned to expect betrayal rather than help.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Look, I get that you've all been through trauma! I really do! But can we at least TRY to work together? Please? Maybe we can move on or overcome our problems?]
[Last Master of Humanity: I agree with the admin. Even if we're cautious, cooperation is better than hostility. If we're going to be in a group together, we should try to trust each other.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Thank you! See? Ritsuka gets it! This is why you're the protagonist!]
[Last Master of Humanity: I'm not really a protagonist... I'm just trying to survive...]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: That's EXACTLY what a protagonist would say!]
[Flash Goddess: Very well. I'm willing to give this arrangement a chance.]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: I'll participate. Cautiously. But one betrayal and I'm done.]
[Shadow Monarch: Same. I'll help with missions if they interest me. But I'm not obligated to anyone here.]
[The Fool: I will observe and assist when appropriate. But I require compensation for my time. I believe in fair exchange.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Great! A tentative agreement! Progress! Now we just need Heaven's Wrath to acknowledge we exist...]
[Flash Goddess: Give them time, Admin-kun. Divine beings operate on their own schedule.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: I DIED and got isekai'd and I still respond to messages! How busy can an angel be?!]
[Shadow Monarch: Maybe they're in a battle. Or dead.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: DON'T JINX IT!]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: Setting aside our silent member, we should discuss practical matters. How do we contact each other outside of group chat? Are there private messages?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Oh! Yeah! There's a DM function! You can message people privately!]
[Shadow Monarch: Good. I don't need everyone hearing everything.]
[Flash Goddess: How secretive. I like it.]
[Last Master of Humanity: Um, I have a question. The admin said he knows our stories. Does that mean he knows things we don't know about ourselves?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Sometimes? Like, I know backstories that haven't been revealed yet in your timelines. Character motivations. Secret connections. That kind of thing.]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: Such as?]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Such as... uh... Actually, maybe I shouldn't say? Spoilers are bad, right? I can tell you in private if you want.]
[Shadow Monarch : that's good. I don't want my whole life story to be public entertainment.]
[Flash Goddess: Well. This is certainly illuminating. The admin really does know far too much.]
[The Fool: Knowledge is power. And curse.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: I'm not going to abuse it! I promise! I just want to help!]
[Shadow Monarch: We'll see. Actions prove intentions, not words.]
[Girl Who Loves Reading: Agreed. For now, we'll proceed with cautious cooperation.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: I'll take it! Now if only Heaven's Wrath would say SOMETHING...]
[Flash Goddess: Patience, Admin-kun. Perhaps Michael is simply the type who speaks only when necessary.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: Or he's judging us. Silently. With angelic disappointment.]
[Last Master of Humanity: That's a scary thought...]
[The Fool: Or perhaps they're simply waiting for the right moment to speak. Timing is everything.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: You're all making excuses for them! MICHAEL! HEAVEN'S WRATH! IF YOU'RE LISTENING, JUST TYPE ONE WORD! ANYTHING! PROVE YOU'RE NOT AFK!]
Still nothing. The angel remained silent.
[Shadow Monarch: Maybe they really are dead.]
[Advocate of Gender Equality: DON'T SAY THAT!]
I watched the entire exchange with growing amusement. Kazuma thought I was Michael. My older brother. The commander of Heaven's armies.
That was hilarious.
I analyzed them through their words. Their patterns. Their responses.
Yoruichi was exactly as I expected. Playful on the surface. Dangerous underneath. She'd taken the revelation about being fictional remarkably well. Probably already planning how to use Kazuma's knowledge .
Sung Jin-Woo was hostile and paranoid but not without reason. He'd been used before. Betrayed. The Architect had turned him into a game piece. He wouldn't make that mistake twice. His threat to kill the Architect was genuine. And justified.
Nico Robin was cautious and analytical. She'd survived by being three steps ahead of everyone.
The revelation about Ohara had hurt her. I could tell from the brief pause, but she'd controlled it. Information was survival to her. Always had been.
Fujimaru Ritsuka was painfully earnest. Genuinely kind despite horrors she faced. The type who'd sacrifice herself for others without hesitation.
The gacha jokes hurt her because she probably had trauma about losing servants. About failing to summon when it mattered.
Klein was the most interesting. He'd deflected every attempt to identify him. Stayed mysterious. Revealed nothing while learning everything.
He was playing the long game. Patient. Calculating. Potentially the most dangerous one here beside Sung Jin Woo.
And Kazuma was exactly what he seemed. An ordinary guy thrust into extraordinary circumstances, trying his best to cope while being deeply out of his depth.
His knowledge of them was both an advantage and a weakness. He cared about them as characters. That made him predictable.
They kept arguing about what missions might appear. About how to coordinate. About trust and betrayal and whether spoiler knowledge was helpful or harmful.
This was interesting. More interesting than I'd expected.
A former NEET who knew them as fiction. A shape-shifting shinigami with centuries of experience. An archaeologist who survived genocide. A hunter who conquered death. A master who saved humanity through gacha. A fool who played roles within roles.
And me. The broken angel pretending to be someone else.
Yeah. This might actually work.
I took a deep breath and typed.
[Heaven's Wrath: Hello everyone. I just finished a battle with two dragons, and dealing with some personal issues. I might be busy at times, but I'll try to help you if I can.]
*****
This is mostly to set the tone and characters before we can move on to the next plot.