Selena spoke before the mission began. "Before we start, I need to give both of you something."
Akira's eyes lit up. "What is it? New powers?"
"No," Selena said, smiling. "I'm giving you your Star Chasers titles."
Erika tilted her head, confused. "Titles? What do you mean?"
But Akira froze in place, hearing what she said, then he asked in excitement. "Is it finally time?!"
"Yes, Brother, it's time", Selena said and waved her hand, and a beam of light flew toward Akira, forming a symbol on his blazer, a wolf's face staring at a lone star.
"I give you the title of Singularity," Selena announced seriously.
"It's so cool... I mean, I humbly accept this title," Akira replied seriously too.
Selena turned to Erika and repeated the gesture. A symbol of a rose with thorns appeared on Erika's blazer.
"Erika-chan, I give you the title of Thrones," Selena announced again.
"Ok, But What… does that mean?" Erika looked even more confused.
"Don't worry," Selena said gently. "It's just a title. I decided every star chaser will have it. Oh, by the way, mine is called Theoros."
Akira's eyes sparkled. "This is awesome! I knew something was missing."
"I thought so too," Selena said. "That's why I added it. Now, shall we return to the mission?"
She waved her hand, bringing up a massive holographic screen that displayed the mission details.
[New Mission Alert]
[Main Quest: Destroy All Demons
Objectives:
Learn any Breathing Technique, Defeat the Demon King, Kibutsuji Muzan, Find the Blue Spider Lily
Difficulty: A
Time Limit: 1 Year
Reward: 1× Gacha Ticket
Restrictions:
All powers except Blazer abilities and innate abilities are locked. All items except essentials are restricted.
Mission starts in 10 min.
Do you accept the mission: Yes / No]
"Okay," Selena said, pointing at the screen. "The main mission is for both of you to learn breathing styles and to learn how to fight using your Devices."
Erika blinked. "Wait, didn't you say breathing techniques were made to kill demons? And also that demons are weak to sunlight? What if learning it weakens me too? I mean, I am a little weak under sunlight."
Akira waved his hand. "No, no, Demon Slayer breathing isn't like Hamon from JoJo's. Hamon literally uses energy similar to sunlight, but breathing styles just enhance your physical strength and stamina. The real demon-killing part comes from the Nichirin Blades, which are made from ores connected to sunlight or something like that."
Selena nodded. "Exactly. The breathing itself won't hurt you, so don't worry."
"Okay…" Erika said hesitantly.
Akira turned to Selena. "So, sister, how much do we have to learn? Just one form, or do we need to master an entire style? Oh, and what if I create my own breathing technique?"
Selena smiled. "The minimum is to learn one breathing style and at least one form. But your performance affects your evaluation. The higher your rank, the better your rewards. So do your best."
"How's the evaluation decided?" Akira asked.
"Not by me," Selena replied. "That's handled by the Star Soul System. I call that function Equilibrium. It's completely impartial; it evaluates your actions, decisions, and completion rate and gives you a rank at the end of your missions. And gives you a rank."
Akira glanced at the mission panel. "It says the reward is a gacha ticket. How's that affected by the evaluation?"
Selena explained, "The ticket gives random items, but they're ranked: Common, Rare, Super Rare, SSR, and even UR. The higher your evaluation, the better the quality of your reward. Hidden achievements are also decided by Equilibrium, so try to aim high."
Akira grinned. "Then I'll go for EX-Rank!"
Selena continued, "Next part, defeating all demons, that means killing the Demon King, Kibutsuji Muzan, since if he dies, all the demons will die too."
Akira frowned. "So, just killing him is fine, right? No weird condition like 'must use breathing technique only'?"
"Correct," Selena said. "How you do it is entirely up to you. Oh, and remember, you're limited to Blazer powers and your innate abilities. No magic, no advanced tech, no enchanted items."
Erika raised her hand. "Wait, what counts as essential items?"
"You can use your system and inventory," Selena clarified, "but not advanced tech or magical items. Everything else is fair game."
Akira sighed. "So, I can't use any of my inventions?"
"Nope," Selena said.
"What if I pull a full Dr Stone and build them from scratch?" Akira asked if he could build it from scratch. It would be good, right?
"Sure," Selena said. "But remember, you only have one year. Time management is critical."
Erika suddenly gasped. "Wait, a year?! What about school!? I totally forgot!"
Selena chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll freeze time in this world while you're away."
Akira blinked. "You can stop time now?"
"Not exactly," Selena said. "I can only pause it in this world. Time in other worlds will still move normally, so you won't miss anything." She then continued, "Finally, your last objective, find the Blue Spider Lily."
"Do we even know where that is?" Erika asked.
Akira shrugged. "We'll just ask the main character. He probably knows."
Selena smiled. "Good idea. So, any more questions?"
Akira raised his hand. "About the magic restrictions… what if we're in real danger?"
"You can use magic in emergencies," Selena said. "Just ask me first, but your rewards will be reduced. Be careful."
Akira nodded. "Got it."
Selena clapped her hands. "Alright, are you ready? Did you take everything you need?"
Both nodded.
"Perfect," Selena said, taking her seat on the throne. The castle glowed as a crystal tiara appeared on her head. "Are you ready?"
Akira nodded, but Erika quickly raised her hand. "Wait! One more question!"
Selena paused mid-activation. "Yes?"
"What are we supposed to tell the Demon Slayer Corps? We can't just pop up out of nowhere, right? And what do we tell them? Do you have a plan?" Erika asked her confusion.
But both Selena and Akira froze. They had both completely forgotten about that.
Akira thought for a moment and said, "How about we say we're vampire hunters from Europe?"
Erika gave him a flat look. "Go on"
"No, I feel like I made a mistake of some kind", Akira said, immediately backing down.
Selena shook her head. "No, that won't work. If they check Europe and find nothing, you'll lose their trust. How about this, both of you are travellers from a faraway land on a journey to exterminate evil creatures and learn new ways to fight them. You heard about demons and the Corps, so you came to learn more from them. The rest… You handle, since you're good at these things, right?"
Akira nodded. "That'll work, I'll take care of the rest."
Erika smiled. "Okay, that sounds better."
"Then any more questions?" Selena asked.
Erika asked, "And where exactly are you teleporting us?"
"It's my first time doing cross-world teleportation," Selena admitted. "I'll do my best to place you near a Demon Slayer."
Erika nodded. "Okay."
"Ok, that's all the questions, right?" Selena asked.
Both shook their heads.
The castle glowed once more. Selena smiled. "The mission starts now."
Before either could question that, the entire room glowed with blinding light. The ground beneath them vanished, and suddenly, they were falling through open sky.
"HUH?!" Akira shouted.
"WHAT?!" Erika screamed.
Through the fading glow, they heard Selena's voice echo faintly, "Oh, my bad!"
And both of them screamed as they plummeted from the sky.