"..." I slowly wake up, putting my hand on my neck without understanding anything, but I soon notice that my friends are here.
"H-Hun?"
"Hana, I see you also lost" A voice I recognize speaks to me, and when I look, I see my brother, but I know I saw him die, and I also remember being killed alongside a terrible pain in my neck.
'I...'
"What..."
"You died, Hana...we all died" Tsubasa speaks with irritation in his voice as I look around and see that everyone is here, while we are in a Sports court.
"Is this...a modern Sports court?" I ask without understanding.
'Dying in that world makes us return to modern Japan?' I wonder, but Tsubasa just shrugs.
"We're not in Japan, look over there, look at those things outside" He says, pointing to the Sports court's fences, where I see several "Demon Kings" walking around, but they are all a little different from each other.
'Where the hell...' I look around, some are crying for having died, others are discouraged while others seem not to believe it.
"Brother, what do you think happened?" I ask, going with him to a corner.
"I don't know, when I died, everything went dark, but after a while I appeared here, and everyone who died was also here, and over time more people appeared, and in general everyone here remembers dying." He speaks as we hear a metallic sound and the gate opens.
This catches everyone's attention as we see a girl similar to the Demon King, but she is shorter and is wearing a strange black and white school uniform, with the jacket wrapped around her waist.
"Hey, you fucking shits, I'm here to explain some things, you can call me number 85" She speaks to us in an irritated tone, while behind her someone enters that we all recognize.
'Vanessa...so...she was here...' Some are terrified to see Vanessa here, after all, she died a long time ago, and if she has been here all this time, there is no clear way out.
"I'm going to explain some things, you pieces of shit, this is the universe of our goddess, and if you're here, there can only be two reasons, either you're guests, or you're toys, but...guests receive special treatment when they're brought here."
"So your position is clear, you're toys that our goddess hates and are here for her entertainment, recently she came and left some rules for us to deal with you."
"She said not to hurt you 'too much' yet because she wants to be the first to have fun, so as long as you follow 5 basic rules, you'll be fine...for now."
"First rule, don't leave the Sports court, second rule, don't talk to anyone outside the Sports court, third rule, don't start fights, fourth rule, don't complain, and fifth rule, don't incite the hatred of anyone outside." She speaks, while Vanessa approaches her and bows her head.
'Is this the same arrogantly arrogant Vanessa?' It's so strange, she has a dead look, she's practically cowering next to this girl who called herself 85.
"D-Do you think I'll obey? Let me out of here! Don't you know who I am? You don't even have a chance against my unique ability" Yuki boldly approaches the girl, pointing a finger at her.
"..."
"Hmmm..." The girl tilts her head thoughtfully, and in an instant she punches Yuki in the stomach, but...the punch goes through her body from one side to the other, then the girl slowly pulls her hand and grabs Yuki's guts, pulling her hand out at once while tearing them out.
"..." Yuki falls to her knees, and before she can scream, the girl kicks, tearing off Yuki's jaw.
"Listen well, you piece of shit, you're in the universe of our goddess, and you'll follow her rules, don't worry, you can't die in here, oh...and you also don't have powers in here" She speaks with malice as she shoves Yuki's guts back into what's left of her mouth.
"This...is perfect, maybe she'll learn not to speak out of turn..." She was going to say more, but another girl arrives, she's quite different, she wears glasses and maintains a more upright posture, and although the school uniform is the same, hers is much more organized.
"Number 85, Number 1 said not to hurt them! Our goddess is the one who should do that first, you delinquent" The girl scolds the other, who rolls her eyes.
"Okay, okay, student council president, I know, but look, she broke the rules, I just applied an appropriate punishment...by the way, why do I have to waste my damn time taking care of this trash?"
"It's your punishment for skipping classes! And for damaging school property, now stop complaining and get something to clean the floor" The student council president speaks harshly to number 85, who clicks her tongue and leaves.
"..."
"I apologize for the inconvenience...as everyone here must have heard, there are rules...you can't die in here, so if you don't follow them, you'll be painfully punished, but for now you have a certain degree of protection since our goddess wants to hurt you first" She speaks in a rigid and professional tone.
"Hey...what is...this place" I approach and ask, the girl pulls out a list and looks at something before speaking.
"Hana Watanabe...this place is the universe of our goddess, you know her as the Demon King, if you're here, it means you died for her or were pulled by her."
"And if you're here, it means you're going to be tortured, but our goddess is...busy, and can't come take care of your punishment now, so you'll stay in this Sports court until further notice."
"...Why...is Vanessa here?" I ask, already knowing the answer to some extent.
"Because our goddess brought her, but she has freedom because she has already been tortured...and because she made a deal with the delinquents in exchange for light protection, Vanessa is also a student at the school..." She says while checking something off the list.
"In fact, all of you are also students at our prestigious school, but you're temporarily out of classes because we're adjusting your classrooms, teachers and classmates while making your accommodations..."
"Why...a school" I ask, while everyone pays attention, and Yuki has somehow passed out at some point, but seems alive, which is unbelievable.
'Why this...modern climate?' The buildings, the architecture, and everything reminds me of Japan, but it's also different, it's like a mix of the Japanese structure with another strange type that gives it a familiar, but also strangely new feel.
"..."
"Don't ask too much, if you're interested in this, you should study at the school and resolve your doubts through student effort, besides, all of you are the worst students our school has."
"If you don't want to go through an even greater hell than what you've already gone through in the future, I suggest you learn to walk the line like Vanessa."
"Well, your future doesn't matter, and I'm not the one who defines it either, all you need to know is that you'll stay in this place until our goddess comes to see you, which may take quite a long time."
"As already demonstrated through this girl, you don't die, so most of the time you'll be ignored, you won't receive food, water or attention."
"B-But there's nothing here!" Kokona speaks, but quickly shuts up at the cold gaze of the girl, who adjusts her glasses before resuming her speech.
"Exactly, there's nothing here, and that's exactly what you deserve, it's not like you're going to die of starvation, Vanessa, for example, as punishment, has already gone months without eating."
"So if you're going to suffer from hunger...just...eat each other" She incites cannibalism as if it were common, making some girls shudder.
"It's not difficult, you have food here, I'm seeing several perfectly edible pieces of meat here, just tear and eat, now that we've resolved this issue, I'd like to warn you."
"Don't try to communicate with anyone outside, breaking such a rule will have bad consequences, the inhabitants outside this Sports court have their own lives and don't need you bothering them."
"I myself am responsible for observing and collecting evidence of transgressions, and Number 1 won't like to know that you've broken the rules, so behave."
"Now I have to go, I've already resolved what I had to do here, I wish you a good time of peace, because when our goddess uses you and gets bored, you'll become public property, and some of the girls can't wait to have new toys." She starts to leave, but turns to us again.
"Oh yes, before I forget, your parents are here, our goddess brought them here some time ago...however, they are different, you are students who will be disciplined for eternity."
"While your parents are personal torture toys for the city, so you won't see them at school, but in a special area just for them...but you'll only be able to see them again when you earn that right." She speaks, leaving and closing the Sports court gate again.
'This...can't be true' I look at Tsubasa and he also noticed, if our parents are here and this is really true, it means the Demon King has already gone to Japan and captured our country even before fighting us.
'W-Why?' Even I am completely shocked, why would the Demon King go after our parents who have nothing to do with this? Why go to another world after our parents when the Demon King doesn't even have reasons for so much work.
"T-Tsubasa, what will we do?" I speak completely nervous, and the worst part is that this warning destabilized everyone in the Sports court, while we don't even have powers to do anything, I don't feel mana, I can't use the system, and I feel very realistic physical sensations, it's not an illusion or a nightmare.
"...This...is bad..." He speaks, understanding the seriousness of the situation, a place where we can't die, where the Demon King can torture us forever.
'N-No way, I'm going to be tortured for eternity?' I can't even stay calm in this horrible situation, just seeing what that "delinquent" did to Yuki already shows the seriousness of it all.
And Vanessa is also here, so the consequences are more than real, they are also lasting