Location: Japan
Kusanagi Godou lay flat on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. His mind was a whirlwind of memories from events that felt like a lifetime ago, yet had only happened recently.
He was a Campione. No, this wasn't some delusional fantasy of a teenager—it was a cold, hard, and terrifying reality. He was one of only seven Devil Kings in the entire world, the bearers of the title Campione.
Back on the sun-drenched island of Sardinia, Italy, he had committed the ultimate taboo: he had slain the God of War, Verethragna, and seized his divine powers—the ten incarnations known as The Persian Warlord. From that moment on, his life as an ordinary high school student was over.
A Campione's existence revolved around one thing: hunting Rogue Deities (Heretic Gods). These were gods who refused to stay within the boundaries of their myths, descending upon the human world to run wild, defying the natural order of the universe.
Despite possessing power that could flatten cities, Godou only wanted one thing: a quiet, peaceful life. Unfortunately, the world seemed determined to deny him that.
"Big brother! Miss Erica is looking for you—she says it's an emergency!"
Hearing his sister Shizuka's voice, Godou felt a familiar weight drop in his stomach. A bad omen.
He went downstairs and stepped outside to find Erica. The blonde beauty looked genuinely concerned, a rare sight that made Godou's heart skip a beat—not out of romance, but out of pure dread.
Erica Blandelli. The girl who had fought beside him in Sardinia. Without her, he never would have survived the God of War. She was a Great Knight of the magical association Copper-Black Cross, known by the fearsome title The Red Devil.
Originally, Godou thought their paths would diverge after Italy. But she had recently transferred to his school, boldly declaring herself his lover and bringing a storm of trouble with her. She had brought the Gorgoneion, an ancient artifact that acted as a magnet for the Rogue Goddess Athena. It had nearly cost Godou his life, saved only by his "Ram" incarnation.
Athena was still lurking somewhere in Japan, and the Gorgoneion was supposed to be safe under the protection of a local shrine maiden. If Erica was this panicked... something had gone horribly wrong.
"So," Godou asked, his voice laced with exhaustion, "what is it this time?"
"It's bad, Godou!" Erica gripped his arm, her eyes wide. "A new Rogue Deity has descended!"
"...What?!"
For the first time, Godou realized just how much he hated being right about his bad premonitions.
The Arrival of the Master
High in the afternoon sky, the calm blue fabric of reality was suddenly torn asunder. A jagged, golden rift flared open, spilling an alien and overwhelming aura in every direction.
The History Compilation Committee—the secret organization governing all mages and spiritualists in Japan—immediately went into overdrive. They began evacuating civilians under the guise of a "sudden gas leak" or "structural instability." In their world, a Rogue Deity was the ultimate natural disaster.
The rift widened with a sound like grinding tectonic plates until a massive hole hung in the air. From the golden void, a single figure stepped out, walking casually on the air as if it were a marble floor.
It was Fujimaru Ritsuka, fresh from the world of Re:CREATORS via Rayshift.
"Huh...? Where am I now?" Ritsuka blinked, looking around at the empty sky. "Last time I landed in a dark alley, now I'm a few hundred meters up? And... why am I not falling? Is the gravity broken?"
A sudden, sharp headache throbbed behind her eyes. A mental transmission from Kid Gil via her Command Seal flooded her mind, relaying the fundamental "rules" of this new world.
"Campione? Devil Kings? Rogue Deities? Seriously, what is with these worlds and their obsession with disasters? Is there a 'World of Constant Peace' somewhere I can visit?"
Testing her connection, she breathed a sigh of relief. She could still contact Chaldea. She could still summon Da Vinci or the Doctor. And more importantly... she felt powerful. Her body felt reinforced, humming with a strange, divine resonance.
"...Wait, did I accidentally become a Rogue Deity?" she muttered, her face going deadpan. "Actually, no. I don't have a myth. I'm just... me. But apparently, surviving seven Singularities and several Lostbelts gives you a 'God-tier' scent."
She experimented with her movement, finding she could fly with ease. "Well, flight is definitely a perk. Better than walking through another desert."
She examined her new status. A single, dominant power resided within her: [Authority: Summon Heroes to Assemble Here].
"Wow, that is a total chuunibyou name," she whispered, blushing slightly. "But it's basically just my Master ability stabilized without needing Mash's shield as a catalyst. Convenient."
She slowly descended toward the city below. "Where is everyone? It's like a ghost town."
The Japanese signs on the shops caught her eye. She let out a soft curse. "Japan again? My luck with Rayshift coordinates is suspiciously consistent."
Wandering aimlessly through the evacuated streets, she eventually found herself at the gates of a quiet shrine. Standing there was a girl with long brown hair, looking paralyzed with fear.
Mariya Yuri felt like her luck had hit rock bottom.
Earlier that day, she had suffered a "Divine Blackout"—a terrifying omen for a Hime-miko (Princess Shrine Maiden) like herself. Her Spirit Vision had been screaming warnings all day.
She had already encountered a Campione at school. Having been kidnapped by one in the past, she was terrified of their kind. Even though Kusanagi Godou seemed reasonable, he had brought that cursed Gorgoneion to Japan!
And now, while trying to find peace at her shrine, she felt it again. A presence so massive, so radiant, that it felt like the sun had descended to earth. She stepped outside, her heart hammering against her ribs, and saw an orange-haired girl walking through the gates.
Their eyes met.
In that instant, Yuri's Spirit Vision exploded into a kaleidoscope of terrifying truths. She didn't see a girl. She saw the weight of a thousand battles, the aura of someone who had stood at the end of time and told the universe "No."
"...A Savior...?! A Rogue Deity of the Savior-class?!"
Yuri's legs gave out. What had she done in her past life to meet both a Devil King and a Savior-class God in the same day?
Ritsuka, completely baffled, watched as the girl in front of her immediately dropped into a perfect dogeza (kneeling bow), her forehead touching the stone path.
"...Is this just the local greeting?" Ritsuka wondered. "You see someone and immediately kneel? You're not Scheherazade, you know..."
Thanks to Gil's info, Ritsuka understood the fear. In this world, Rogue Deities were walking apocalypses. If a Sun God appeared, the world burned. If a Sea God appeared, the land drowned.
But Ritsuka had no intention of burning or drowning anything. She had fought alongside gods like Quetzalcoatl and Tiamat. To her, "Gods" were just roommates who ate too much of her snacks.
"Oh great and holy Savior, please do not bring ruin to this land!" Yuri's voice trembled so hard it was barely audible. "If a sacrifice is needed to appease your wrath, then take my life, but spare the innocent!"
"Wait, wait, wait! Stop right there!" Ritsuka waved her hands frantically. "I'm not here to kill anyone! I just got lost!"
"Then... are you here to bring about the Great Cleansing through destruction?!"
...What kind of logic was that?!
As Ritsuka stood there, face-palming, Yuri's mind was spiraling. The God is silent... she must be offended! It's over! Japan is going to be erased because I said the wrong thing!
Then, she remembered Godou's promise: "If you are in danger, call my name. I will fly to your side."
Even though this wasn't Athena, this "Savior" felt even more dangerous.
"Kusanagi Godou! Please... help me!" Yuri cried out, shutting her eyes tight.
"Hm?" Ritsuka tilted her head. "Who?"
[Authority of the Wind — ACTIVATED]
Just as Ritsuka reached out to help Yuri up, a blur of motion streaked across the shrine. A silver blade swung toward Ritsuka's neck without warning.
Ritsuka's instincts, honed by countless battles with Heroic Spirits, kicked in. She leaped back, her boots skidding on the stone as she landed gracefully outside the attack's range.
Standing protectively in front of Yuri was a young man with the look of a classic shounen protagonist, accompanied by a stunning blonde knight—the one who had just tried to take Ritsuka's head.
Kusanagi Godou and Erica Blandelli had arrived.
"Are you okay, Yuri?" Godou asked, his eyes never leaving Ritsuka.
"I'm alive... but Godou, be careful! She's a Savior-class Rogue Deity!"
Godou flinched. "Savior-class? Why would a heavy-hitter like that show up in a place like this?!"
Godou knew the stakes. Even the Goddess Athena, for all her terrifying power, paled in comparison to the myths of a "Savior" if they were hostile.
Ritsuka stood her ground, her expression turning cool and aloof. She could feel her body's instinctive hostility toward the man in front of her. So this is a Campione. A God-Slayer.
The air between them crackled with tension. Campiones and Rogue Deities were natural enemies, destined to clash until one was destroyed.
"I don't know which 'Savior' you are," Godou said, his voice firm as he stepped forward, "but I won't let you turn this city into a wasteland!"
Ritsuka nearly screamed. Did I say anything about a wasteland?! Your imagination is way too much!
She realized that in this world, "God = Destruction." Explaining herself would be like a hurricane trying to apologize for the wind. Using her Command Seal, she pinged Kid Gil for a full dossier on "Kusanagi Godou."
Godou, meanwhile, studied her. She looked like a normal sixteen-year-old girl with vibrant orange hair in a side-ponytail and cold, calculating brown eyes. She wore a white Chaldean jacket, a black skirt, and white boots. She looked... strangely modern for a god.
But his eyes were drawn to the red, jagged pattern on her right hand. On a normal girl, it would be a tattoo. On a god, it was a weapon of mass destruction.
Just as the tension reached a breaking point, a new voice drifted through the shrine.
"It seems I've arrived just in time for the festivities."
Everyone turned to see a small girl wearing a sky-blue hat with cat ears.
"Athena!" Godou gasped. Great. One Savior-class god was a nightmare. Now Athena too? I'm going to die today, he thought.
Ritsuka blinked. This... this tiny thing is Athena? She thought of the towering, terrifying, snake-haired Gorgon back at Chaldea. Then she looked at this loli-cat-hat version.
Ritsuka slowly reached into her pocket, pulled out a high-tech camera she had borrowed from Saint George, and—CLICK!
She snapped a photo of Athena.
Both Athena and Godou froze, staring at her in utter confusion.
"...A fellow deity, I see," Athena said, frowning at the camera. "But you seem... displeased with your form? A Heroic Spirit of Steel, an Earth Mother, a Savior... why have you made yourself so complicated, traveler?"
How should I know?! Ritsuka screamed internally.
"But that is irrelevant," Athena turned back to Godou. "My ancient enemy—return the Gorgoneion to me. I must become the true Trinity Athena."
Gorgon is Athena? Ritsuka thought, trying not to laugh. If our Gorgon heard that, she'd tail-smack this kid into the next century.
The three-way standoff began. The God-Slayer, the Rogue Goddess, and the Master of Chaldea.