unknown space, unknow time:

in a void with nothing in it, suddenly, a flash of light occurred,

"ow, that hurt!" shouted a young man with brown hair and eyes as he looked around him,

"issei!, are you okay?" shouted a redhead girl while a black haired girl looked around in astonishment

"buchou, look there" she shouted as the redhead girl looked in the direction with a stupefied look,

it was because of the leaders of all the factions in the world were thrown about in a heap,

the four satans, Ajuka Beelzebub, Serafall leviathan, Serzechs Lucifer, and Falbium Asmados were laying in a heap, along with them was the wife of Serzechs, Grafia

some distance away, the seraphim, Michael and Gabriel were elegantly standing up, presumably already escaping from the heap on the floor,

some distance away, in another heap of people was the peerage of Sona Sitri,

Yasaka, the leader of the Yokai faction was standing in a distance with her daughter Kunou,

after everyone had recovered, Rias Gremory headed towards the others, but before anyone could say anything, a book fell on the floor in a flash of light, while sofas of different shapes and sized along with a gigantic plasma TV appeared in the same manner,

Serzechs too the note attached to the book and read it out loud,

"i know that all of you are confused about your situation, let me make some things clear, you all are in my personal dimension, until you guys complete reading the book about an alternate world separate from your own, you are not allowed to leave, and before some of you try to brute force your way out, let me make myself clear, not even Great red is capable of escaping my space without my permission, so be obedient and read the book, and also, refreshments will be provided according to your wishes, just say what you want and it will appear on the table" after reading the note several people had several reactions,

"but onii-sama, won't the others back home be worried if we are gone for a long time?" Rias asked as the note shined and a new line appeared on it,

'do not worry, as long as you people are here, time is frozen in your dimension, so you can stay here as long as it takes' it read to which Serafall raised an eyebrow and said,

"so this note will answer us there is any question? that's convenient"

"let's get this over with," said Falbium with a sleepy expression,

"who's going first?" sirzechs asked to which Gabriel raised her hand, she loved reading literature, and as this book is supposed to be about an alternate world of their own, she was very much interested in reading it,

soon, everyone got comfortable on the couches, issei was sitting surrounded by his peerage, while the Sitri peerage sat in a couch beside the Gremory peerage, Serafall sat right beside her sister much to Sona's annoyance, Michael sat with his sister as the other three Maos sat on different couches, Yasaka took a single couch with her daughter on her lap

"let's begin A Demon Lord's Hero," Gabriel said as the TV turned on,

"strange title" Ajuka mumbled while Michael nodded, they knew for a fact that no one from the Hero faction aside from the pendragon family was willing to work with Devils,

When I came to, I was in a burning field.

I guess there was a big fire. The familiar town had turned to ashes, and it looked like the remains of a battlefield from a movie. But that didn't last long either. The fire had died down by the time the sun rose. The tall wall of flame had shortened, and most of the buildings had fallen.

...It felt strange, being the only thing in that place that still had its original form. I was the only one who was still alive around here. I must have been really lucky, or my house was built in a very lucky spot. I don't know which it was, but the point is, I was the only one left alive.

everyone gasped as the visual appeared on the TV, Gabriel and Michael watched with sadness as the form of a young child surrounded by a burning city came to view, Gabriel then continued reading,

I felt that since I survived, I should live on. I started walking aimlessly because I thought it would be dangerous to just stay there. I wasn't really concerned about getting burned up like the people lying around me. ...Probably because, over and above not wanting to be like them, I had a stronger feeling in my mind.

But still, I had no hope.

It was already a wonder I was still alive, so I couldn't expect to be saved. I won't survive. Whatever happens, I won't be able to escape from this red world. It was such an absolute hell that even a small child could understand it.

And I collapsed.

Was it because there was no air? Was it because I had nothing left to give in my body?

Either way, I collapsed and stared up at the clouded sky. A mountain of corpses.

Gabriel was now openly weeping at the sight as even the Devils were horrified at what they were watching on the screen,

People crumbling away.

A time when everyone wished for help, yet none received any.

That was painful. It was so painful that even living was painful, and I even thought I would be at ease if I just disappeared.

With a fading consciousness, I reached out for no reason. I didn't reach out seeking help. I just thought the sky was a long way away. ...In my last moments, that what I thought.

And then, my mind faded away, and the raised hand fell to the ground. ...No.

It should have fallen to the ground.

A big hand grasped the falling hand.

That person came into the fire to save anybody and found me.

everyone watched with bated breaths as the image of the man came to view, he wore a messed up trench coat with a black suit inside, he and shaggy black hair as his tired eyes shone with happiness,

"those flames, they don't look natural, there is something strange about them" Ajuka mumbled as Serzechs and Michael nodded, Michael especially could sense the aura coming from the flames and he was utterly disgusted at the malice coming from it,

...I remember that face.

A figure of a man, with tears welling in his eyes, delighted from the bottom of his heart that he has found someone alive. It was because he looked so happy... ...I even thought that he was the one that was saved, not me.

So, looking enviable even in my dying eyes, the man saved an unfamiliar child as if thanking something.

And yet, all I could think of as I was captivated by that dazzling smile of his was...

Was he smiling...

...because of me?

"poor child, just what kind of conditions was he living in to not even know how to smile happily?" Grafia said with sadness,

I remember our first meeting perfectly.

Over a field of grass, dyed red by the setting sun, a sphere of light flickered to life. It pulsed weakly for a moment, its blue light wavering in the air before finally gaining strength and solidifying.

How could I not?

Slowly, almost hesitantly, it began to move through the air, leaving a trail of shimmering light in its wake. Twisting and turning, but never rising or falling, the sphere began to pick up speed as an image began to form from its trailing lights.

Like a paintbrush on a canvas, the sphere drew a circle in the air. And within that circle was another circle and a third one within the second. Between the borders of the circles were strings of archaic runes, numbering in the hundreds, leisurely revolving within the limited space within the boundary of the circles.

When the sphere, at last, appeared to have finished its work, it hung in place, motionless for a few moments, before slowly drifting towards the very heart of the design, to the small patch of empty space located in the middle of the smallest circle.

"Hey!, that's a summoning circle" issei shouted to which Rias hit him on the back of his head and shushed him, she was way too interested in the story to miss anything because of her stupid crush,

Aligning itself in the center of the magic circle, it pulsed once and then twice, before it unfolded like the petals of a flower. The former sphere twisted into a new form, a two-dimensional shape that was clearly a symbol of some kind though one far too complex to be a mere rune and vaguely resembled a stylized necklace.

Once the symbol was completely formed, it started to glow. Radiating a light so bright and blue, it appeared to have been set aflame from within, which soon began to spread as the rest of the magic circle began to glow in turn.

"no way! that's the Sitri family crest" Sona shouted

Once the circle began to shine to the point that it was almost too bright to see, a figure started to emerge from the surface of the circle. The top of her head was the first thing to appear, revealing a raven black mane, which was soon followed by the rest of her body. Once her feet were pulled out of the magic circle, she hung above the circle, momentarily suspended in the air as her toes dangled just inches above the circle.

Its job now completed, the magic circle began to disperse into specks of blue light which soon faded into nothing. The figure slowly drifted to the ground, and once her feet were firmly planted on the ground, she opened her eyes.

They were eyes of violet, shining like gems of amethyst. She was a small woman, one that could easily be described as petite, though one impossible to be mistaken for a child due to her fully formed figured. Her hair was worn in pigtails that were held in place with violet ribbons, and she was dressed in what appeared to be a magical girl costume made out of pink and white cloth. She held a matching colored wand tipped with a star in her right hand, while with her other hand she shaded her eyes as she gazed around the place she found herself in with open curiosity.

"ONEE-SAMA, DO YOU SHOW UP FOR YOUR JOB DRESSED IN THE SAME WAY?" shouted sona towards a dumbfounded serafall, unlike the others, serafall and her fellow maos knew exactly how hard it was to summon a Maou, this was the reason why she was so surprised at her being summoned,

It's not every day that a Maou gets to meet a hero after all. Being summoned by one was a rare event, to say the least.

Surrounding her were swords. Peerless swords out of legends were planted point first into the ground around, spreading outwards towards the distant horizon, numbering so many that they were beyond counting. In the gold and crimson skies above her hung metal gears. They were suspended in the air with nothing to support them as they ever so slowly turned and ground against one another. Their smooth, steely exterior was polished so thoroughly that they acted like mirrors, reflecting the cloudy skies on their surface.

Let alone one from another world

"WHAT THE HELL, WHAT KIND OF A WORLD IS THAT?" Issei shouted as everyone else watched the screen with a stupefied face, although for a different reason,

the devils were able to feel the holy aura coming from many of the swords and it sent shivers down their spines, however, the blood lust coming from some of the demonic swords terrified even the Maus themselves, but Michael had something else on his mind as he stared pointedly at a single sword in the distance,

'Why is there a Durandal located in that world? and why does it feel much more controlled and powerful than our version?' he thought as he looked at the golden sword,

But she paid them no mind as something else had captured her attention.

Usually, the only heroes who come looking for me are of the variety that is trying to slay me.

Stepping forward, she began to make her way between the swords towards the one that had held her interest. She didn't travel far before she stopped just outside the edge of the magic circle that was carved into the ground.

Eyes wide with wonder, she gazed at the figure seated within.

It was a young man approaching the end of his teenage years. His hair was colored with an auburn red, though he had a streak of white staining one of his bangs. A man with eyes of brown so bright that they were almost gold. He was tall for his age, topping six foot in height, though he didn't look it sitting on the ground as he currently was.

almost all the girls blushed when they looked at the figure on the screen while issei was silently sending curses towards the man,

Cradled in his arms was a little girl, barely a teenager. With hair as white as snow and skin so pale, she looked ethereal, like something out of this world. Almost like a fairy out of legend. The colors of her eyes could not be seen as they were hidden behind her closed eyelids. With a peaceful smile adorning her face, she would have looked like nothing more than a slumbering child if not for the unnatural stillness that took hold of her body and the crying boy that embraced her so tightly towards his chest.

So imagine my surprise when I came upon you in that summoning circle of yours, cradling your dying sister close to your chest and clinging to her frame so tightly, as if she would disappear the moment you loosened your grip.

at first, issei was oogling the girl but after learning of the circumstances, he stayed silent, the rest of the being felt the same, except for Serafall ad Serzechs who both looked towards their sisters, they knew for a fact that if anything were to happen to their sisters, they too would be the same as the boy, probably even worse,

As tears continued to run down his already wet cheeks, the boy looked up to the girl before him and begged for help.

You were bawling your eyes out as you wailed out for someone, anyone to save her.

The girl observed the boy for a long moment before her eyes hardened.

Gone were the violet eyes, replaced by slits that burned red with hellfire. The face that framed it was drained from any warmth or emotion, looking as if it had been carved from stone. Wings, twelve twisted crooked black wings emerged from her back, surrounding her frame like a ring of shadows.

Where once stood a young woman, now stood a being of darkness. Shedding her facade of humanity, it revealed its true nature, that of a Lord of Devils

A Maou

Power, unadulterated power radiated out of her like heat from the sun. The entire area was drowning in it as the air around her form rippled from her mere presence.

With her eyes of crimson red, the devil in the shape of a girl looked back down at the boy, who looked back unflinchingly.

The devil offered the boy a bargain, a contract. She will grant his wish. She will save the life of the girl.

I offered to grant you your wish

But this was a devil's bargain, where nothing came for free and very rarely cheap.

But at an impossible price, one too high for anyone willing to pay

The girl would be saved.

But for a price.

A hint of disdain made its way to her face as the thing that was a girl but wasn't, stated her price

Your soul,

almost everyone who was not a devil glared at serafall who was watching the screen in a daze,

"as expected of a Devil, even when someone is begging for help you would only think about your own benefit" said Gabriel with venom in her voice which surprised Michael, but he did not know that, due to her special power, Gabriel was capable of seeing the soul of a person, and when she saw the young man's soul, she was thoroughly mesmerized with how pure it was,

meanwhile, Serafall was thinking as to why her other was trying to take the boy as a servant, after what had happened in the past, she simply did not have the will to take another servant, but for some reason, her other seems set on taking the boy

And without hesitation, you accepted with a smile on your face so dazzling it looked as if I had offered you the world.

The girl seemed startled, shock written clearly on her face as she stared at the boy. For a time, the world around them seemed to freeze as the girl simply stared at the boy in

incomprehension. Slowly, the girl's frame began to shudder slightly. The shudder quickly grew and grew until it sent her whole body trembling. From between her tightly clenched lips, a

small laugh brought out.

She threw her head back and laughed. She laughed and laughed so long and loud it appeared that it will never end. However, there was nothing malicious in that laughter. On the

contrary, it was a joy-filled one.

It was a pure thing, like rays of sunshine after an endless storm.

I could not help but smile. I could not help but laugh as I released my joy to the world.

The laughter of one whose hope was renewed long after all hope was lost.

I have found you. At long last, I had finally found you,

It was the laughter of a tired soul that finally found a home.

It seemed to go on forever, but when her laughter finally ended, she lowered her head and gazed at the world through the eyes the color of brilliant violet, her eyes shone with unshed tears as she looked upon the boy and asked a single question

I remember the first time I heard your name.

Emiya Shirou.

The boy asked a question in turn.

And I first told you mine.

Serafall Leviathan.

And that was how a Demon Lord, and her hero, met.

as Gabriel stopped reading everyone was left speechless in wonder and amazement, they simply did not know what to say, sona looked at her sister whose head lower with her hair covering her face, Serzechs put his hand on her shoulder in comfort as Ajuka and even Falbium looked solemnly at the tv,

"so, who wants to read next?" Gabriel said to which Yasaka raised her hand, she was very interested in this boy who seemed too selfless,