Rumble!
The dazzling light, accompanied by a rush of air, swept through the entire classroom as the 'golden door' appeared out of thin air. The bookshelf was blown over by the wind, and the electric lamp shattered with a loud bang.
The noise woke up Shichimiya Satone, who had been sleeping in the magic circle with her pillow in her arms, and she looked at the floating door above her in a daze.
"Huh?"
Rikka Takanashi and Sanae Dekomori held their arms in front of their faces to shield themselves from the wind. Both of them were completely confused about the current situation.
The only thoughts in their heads were: "What just happened?" and "What did we do?"
They were merely playing around, pretending to be magicians, imagining things that didn't exist. Although they wished magic could be real, they never believed they would actually experience it.
If they really encountered magic, they would be terrified, much like how one fears dragons despite loving them.
"Aaaahhhh!"
Yuta Togashi screamed as he watched the golden gate appear in front of them. After finally getting rid of his own chuunibyou (middle school syndrome), his world, which he had just started to see rationally, collapsed in an instant.
"No way! Summoning is real?!"
The atmosphere in the room felt charged, as if filled with an unseen power. He completely felt the weight of what had happened, and his legs began trembling.
The golden door eventually came into full view, and the once-blinding light faded, leaving only a soft glow.
"A door? What's going on here?" Satone asked after waking up, clearly startled as she quickly moved away from the magic circle.
Yuta's eyes widened, his face twisted with shock. He pointed at the radiant door, trembling, and looked at Rikka and Sanae with fear in his voice.
"You two... you're kidding, right? You're not actually... magicians?"
Rikka and Sanae were stunned speechless, but they snapped out of it when they heard Yuta's words.
Despite being terrified, Rikka tried to maintain her persona and stammered, "Y-Yes, it's... the power of the Evil King's True Eye..."
Sanae's eyes lit up with excitement as she crawled in front of Rikka.
"Master! My Master! This is amazing! I can feel it! It's real magic! This is incredible! Did we really summon something?"
She looked up at Rikka with stars in her eyes, while Satone, intrigued, covered her mouth in shock and cautiously reached out towards the door.
"Senpai!" Yuta shouted quickly.
But Satone had already placed her hand on the door.
"Wow! It's floating in mid-air," she said, fascinated. She even tried touching underneath the door, searching for any visible supports or strings.
"There really is magic in the world," Satone stated, and then she looked at Rikka.
"Rikka, you really are a magician. This is something straight out of a fantasy!"
Originally, she had only wanted to find a club where she could sleep without having to do any work. She had never expected that magic could actually be real.
Rikka was sweating profusely, her legs shaking, but seeing everyone look at her with admiration, she swallowed her fear and decided to play along.
"Y-Yes, I... I am the wielder of the Evil King's True Eye!"
Click!
Suddenly, the door to the clubroom opened. A slender girl with waist-length brown hair, tied with a red hairpin, appeared in the doorway.
"Hello, I heard a loud noise. Did someone knock over the table or..."
Her words stopped abruptly as she took in the strange scene in front of her—the unfamiliar sight of the golden door, radiating sacred energy, left her in shock.
"This... What is this...?"
Shinka Nibutani had originally come to see what the "Far Eastern Magic Society," established by her classmates, was all about. She had heard a noise on her way and assumed someone might have knocked something over, so she decided to check if they needed help.
However, upon opening the door, a surreal scene greeted her. She felt an unfamiliar sense of awe and sacredness wash over her.
Yuta, Rikka, Sanae, and Satone all looked at Nibutani simultaneously.
Nibutani stumbled back, trembling, and said, "Did I just see something I shouldn't have?"
Sanae rushed over, knocking Nibutani down and pulling her into the room before slamming the door shut.
---
"What are you doing?! I didn't see anything!" Nibutani screamed, trying to get up. But she couldn't move, pinned down by Sanae.
Sanae grinned, looking proudly at Rikka. "Master! I caught this mysterious intruder for you. We now have another sacrifice for the summoning!"
In her eyes, this was all part of her master's powerful magic.
Nibutani, already terrified, gasped. "Sacrifice?! Ahhh! Let me go, help!"
The mention of a "sacrifice" only made things scarier.
Is magic really real? Summoning, sacrifices... and it's all happening in school?!
Yuta was equally confused by the scene. Just as he was about to say something, the golden door suddenly opened.
Buzz—
Everyone turned to look. The atmosphere grew silent and tense.
The golden door opened slowly, revealing a figure with long, crimson-red hair emerging from the light.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
She was beautiful, with a graceful figure and an aura of nobility. But when they noticed the dark wings behind her back, it felt like a pair of giant hands gripped everyone's hearts.
Demon—
Rias Gremory opened her eyes, her wings gently fluttering as she stepped into the room.
Her red eyes surveyed her surroundings. Chalk-drawn "magic circles" were scribbled all over the floor, and five students stared at her, completely stunned.
In an instant, she understood the situation.
"These students were playing a game of summoning demons..."
"And it just so happened that the 'Gate to the World' appeared here."
Rias had no intention of intimidating the students and spoke with a smile.
"Are you all students? I can't tell if you're lucky or unlucky."
"It seems you've drawn something that wasn't quite what you intended."
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!