Chapter 2

I felt my body, freed from its shackles, shift into a higher gear—and I swung the fork gripped in my hand.

Clang!!

She gasped in alarm, jerking backward. Her black suit split open across the chest as she barely managed to evade. Even so, her voice rose in shock.

[How are you moving along the same timeline as me!? And with that… a fork?]

“I’m more surprised you dodged it at all.”

At my reply, she gave a short, incredulous laugh.

[A mere mortal, just barely past twenty years of age, dares to say that to an Archangel?]

“Archangel? The hell’s that supposed to be? Whatever. Doesn’t matter. So Grim Reapers really do exist, huh. Guess death isn’t set in stone after all.”

I smiled brightly at her. A Grim Reaper was supposed to escort the dying. Meaning—if I cut down every Reaper that came, then the dying wouldn’t die.

First, I’d bury this pretty Grim Reaper in front of me. Then I’d take down every other Reaper who came for Mom and my little sister. They were probably high-value staff, but if I kept cutting them down, surely they’d give up eventually.

What, you think that’s nonsense? Of course it makes sense.

I couldn’t punch cancer to death, but anything with eyes, a mouth, and two legs to stand on? They didn’t stand a chance.

I shifted my grip on the fork and charged.

It was a bit short for a weapon, sure. But I knew how to make it work. Better than bare hands, at least.

Panicked by my sudden burst of speed, the woman drew a gleaming silver arming sword—about a meter long—and swung desperately.

Crash!!

The violent clash rang out.

[You blocked it? My sword? Even with my strength limited to mortal levels, it should still be at least Grandmaster-tier!]

“You’re saying I blocked it? With my fork?”

Seeing my stunned face, her expression twisted in outrage.

[Why are you so shocked!? How serious are you about that damn fork!? No, listen to me—]

I tuned out her words and moved immediately into my next motion.

Twist of the torso, step forward, a slicing strike from left to right.

Schhk!!

Her silver blade was clearly no ordinary weapon, but even so, it couldn’t withstand my fork.

Craaaash!!

The sword shattered, fragments spinning through the air.

[Wh-what the…?!?!?]

And without slowing, my fork pressed on, cutting straight for her neck.

Thoooom!!

“Blocked again?”

I frowned at the translucent barrier covering her body. The woman, collapsed on the floor, let out a scream that was half panic, half disbelief.

[W–wait! Hold on!! Just what the hell are you?! How can a magicless, first-tier civilization human break my sword with a fork?!]

“So this is… a shield?”

[Stop just talking to yourself and actually listen to me!]

“Eh. Doesn’t matter. I’ll just cut through this too.”

That transparent shield around her was clearly something that defied common sense. By any normal means, it should have been impenetrable.

But that was fine. I didn’t need to stay normal.

Crackkkk!!

Climbing over her, I pressed the fork down slowly.

Dark fissures spread where the fork met the barrier, worming their way deeper and deeper.

[Spatial fracturing?! You’re not breaking the wall itself, but the coordinates of the space it’s anchored to? With raw metal? What is that? That’s terrifying!]

Grrrkkkk!

The fork bit further and further in. Her face turned pale in an instant.

[W–wait! Stop! Stop!! Who smashes heads first and talks later like some barbarian!? What’s wrong with just having a normal conversation!?]

Since it seemed only polite to at least hear a dying person out, I humored her.

“I admit I tend to treat lives—other than my family’s—like flies. But that doesn’t mean I go around slitting throats for fun. I’m not a psychopath.”

[Then why!?]

“Because you’re a Grim Reaper, aren’t you? Why would I let someone live when their job is to kill me and drag me to the afterlife?”

[I told you, I’m not a Grim Reaper! I never meant to harm you!]

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, pure white wings unfurled behind her.

—Five immaculate wings, gleaming like snow.

[See? Have you ever seen a Grim Reaper walking around with wings like these?]

The sight was needlessly holy. I flinched, easing the fork back just slightly.

“If you never meant to harm me, then why’d you freeze me in place the moment you showed up?”

[That wasn’t intentional! It’s because the timeline you and I experience isn’t aligned! I only wanted to talk quietly!]

“If you really wanted to talk, you should’ve adjusted your timeline to match mine. A one-sided conversation where only one party holds all the power? That’s not dialogue. That’s coercion.”

[Th–that’s… sigh… fine. That was my mistake. I’m sorry.]

“You’re really not a Grim Reaper? Then why the hell are you dressed in pitch-black like it’s a funeral?”

[What, I can’t wear black? Since when does black clothing automatically mean Grim Reaper? It’s all just your assumptions—hiiik, the fork! The fork is touching my neck!!]

I froze the fork just as it pierced her skin. A single drop of golden liquid—whether blood or something else—slid down her throat.

“But you said it yourself. That you were a ‘transcendent being’ here to take me to a ‘new world.’ Sounds exactly like how a Grim Reaper would introduce themselves.”

[Ugh, you’re so stubborn! That’s not what I meant! I’m an angel! Sent to take you to another world!]

“Another world? You mean the kind where you keel over from overwork, or die saving a kid, or get run over by a truck, and suddenly wake up somewhere else?”

[Yes! That! That’s it! An Isekai!!]

“So… killing you doesn’t mean I’ll live longer here, does it?”

[Of course not! There are no Grim Reapers in this world to begin with!]

Looking into her desperate eyes, I realized she was telling the truth.

“Ha… damn it. Way to ruin my fun.”

[If anything, killing me will make things worse! You’ll lose even the chance to be saved! So put down that cursed fork already!]

“…Worse? Lose my chance? Are you saying… you can cure my cancer?”

[That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!!]

“…Then why didn’t you say that first?”

[When was I supposed to? You jabbed me like I was a steak the second I opened my mouth!]

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I slowly lifted the fork away from her neck.

“…Fine. Tell me the details.”

[…That’s how it is.]

‘A cliché if I ever saw one.’

Boiling her glare-filled explanation down, it went something like this:

1. She was an angel from another world called Kion.
2. About two hundred years ago, a “trial” descended upon that world.
3. As a result, four Demon Kings rose up, plunging Kion into the brink of ruin.

[The real issue is… even though the scale might look small, this “trial” is driven by the will of the greater cosmos. Because of that, the gods and angels of Kion can’t directly intervene.]

“So what you’re saying is… the people there have to overcome the trial without help from higher beings?”

[Yes.]

“If the gods or angels interfere, what happens?”

[They suffer penalties beyond the level of interference. Restrictions placed on the Demon Kings are lifted, or they get additional buffs.]

“Hm…”

[That’s why the gods chose to lock themselves away in the Celestial Realm, avoiding direct action. Instead, they send their angels across worlds to find gifted individuals, bring them to Kion, and appoint them as heroes to fight in their stead. It’s a workaround, really.]

“Hold on. You ‘bring’ them? That sounds like kidnapping.”

[What do you take us for? It’s always with consent, and always with fair compensation.]

“Compensation? What kind?”

[Life. We only recruit those whose lives are already on the verge of ending—whether by accident, illness, whatever.]

“Like me?”

[Exactly. Like you. For reference, you’ll be dead within a week if nothing changes.]

“…The doctor said I had a few months left.”

[An angel’s diagnosis is more accurate than a doctor’s.]

I shut my mouth for a moment before asking again.

“If you can save me, can’t you save the others too?”

She shook her head firmly.

[You mean your family, right?]

“……”

[Unfortunately, that’s impossible. The price of isekai transfer is only the individual’s life. There are no exceptions.]

“So you only heal people because you need them healthy enough to be useful?”

[Well, that too.]

Damn. She admitted it without hesitation.

But after glimpsing the possibility of saving my family, there was no way I could just back down.

I lifted the fork slightly and smiled thinly.

“So what you’re really saying is, it’s not impossible—you’ve got the power to do it, but you won’t.”

She stumbled back, waving her hands frantically.

[Threats won’t work! Even if I wanted to, I’d never get authorization from above! I might be called an Archangel or transcendent, but to the higher-ups I’m just a wage slave! Anti-violence!!]

“……”

[Ugh… what kind of Archangel gets humiliated by a human like this?]

She didn’t look like she was lying.

“Fine then. What do I have to do to save my family?”

[I told you, it’s impossible. Once you’re in Kion, you can earn rewards depending on your achievements, but those only apply within Kion. They can’t reach this world—]

“Demon Kings.”

[Excuse me?]

“You said the point of calling heroes is to defeat the Demon Kings. So if I kill them, you’ll cure my family. You can’t just back out of that, right?”

[Wait, you mean—kill the Demon Kings in exchange for curing your family’s cancer?]

“That’s right.”

She blinked at me, then suddenly burst into ringing laughter.

[Hahaha! Of course. Of course it’s possible. If you could take down even one of the four Demon Kings, we wouldn’t just cure cancer—we could erase the disease entirely from this world. That’s how monumental such an achievement would be. But do you think that’s even possible?]

“……”

[You don’t understand what Demon Kings are. You’re from a world with no concept of the arcane. For two hundred years, countless heroes have been summoned. None have managed to defeat a Demon King. Most couldn’t even handle the monsters under their command.]

Please. In manga and novels, Demon Kings were practically treated like punching bags these days. Sometimes even the hero’s future spouse.

[They are the antithesis of the world itself. Born for the sole purpose of annihilating civilization. They wield powers that exist only to exterminate mortals and sentient beings. What could an unprepared human possibly do against such a transcendent existence?]

“You said you were transcendent too, didn’t you? And yet I beat you.”

I tapped my fork against my palm, smirking. She exploded.

[They’re more! More! More transcendent than me! Fine, I admit you’re beyond human. But Demon Kings are on another level entirely! If my power hadn’t been limited to mortal levels, you wouldn’t have lasted a second against me!!]

“Lost is lost. Excuses don’t matter. Point is, as long as I kill them, I’ll get what I want. So take me there.”

[Take you? Take you where?]

“To the Demon Kings.”

[Unbelievable… Not only the Demon Kings, but once you cross over, you’ll never be able to come back. You say it like you’re going out for a stroll—]

I fell silent for a moment, then gave a bitter laugh.

“Doesn’t matter. You said I’ve got a week left, right? Better to vanish chasing this than to waste away in front of my family, leaving their hearts in pieces. If I disappear, at least they’ll have time to grieve.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but in the end only let out a long sigh.

[Damn it. Why me? I thought I’d finally found a jackpot ticket for once… Fine. If that’s how you want it. If you’re that eager to throw away your life, so be it.]

She pulled out a rolled-up sheet of paper from her coat, spread it open, then tore it in half.

Strange symbols like spirals and spirographs lifted into the air, surrounding both of us in a radiant glow.

Flash!

[Initiating transfer. Hold on tight.]