"A thousand-year reckoning? The gods have decided to annihilate humanity? Valkyrie now I remember. Record of Ragnarok! You're the one who organized that grand tournament to save humanity from extinction, right? Thirteen humans versus thirteen gods. If humanity wins seven rounds, they survive. That's it, isn't it?"
Kevin Cross's memory finally clicked.
"Hm? You know Ragnarok Saga?" Brunhilde's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Yeah, yeah, I watched a few episodes of Record of Ragnarok. You were in it, along with that goddess of beauty pretty faces, sure. But most of the others? Weird designs, honestly. It wasn't much of a visual treat. And the animation was awful, the fight scenes barely watchable. The plot? Just thirteen one-on-one duels. I managed to push through twelve episodes, then gave up."
Kevin spoke bluntly, shrugging as he explained.
Brunhilde's expression twisted slightly, a shadow of disbelief crossing her face. A vein of frustration surfaced her entire being momentarily lined with dark lines, the corners of her mouth tightening.
But it wasn't his criticism that stung.
It was the fact that he hadn't finished watching it.
Without seeing the whole story, how could she know if her efforts had paid off? Her plans, her sacrifices, and those of her sisters had they been in vain?
"Sorry. I didn't know I was going to end up in another world or that I'd stumble into some kind of interdimensional chat group. If the anime had been decent, I might've finished it. But seriously, it was a rough watch. Lü Bu getting taken out by Thor? I mean, sure, mortals losing to gods, fine. Then the second round Adam, the so-called father of humanity. That bit about him being everyone's dad was already a stretch. But losing to Zeus? I could live with that, I guess. He is the king of the Greek pantheon, after all."
Kevin paused, then sighed, his expression turning faintly annoyed.
"But then came the third round. Sasaki Kojiro? A swordsman from a small island nation? Suddenly he's treated like some unbeatable legend. His real-life reputation was fine, but come on he was barely level 10 in terms of strength. Yet they had him take on Poseidon, who was basically a level 99 god. And he won. Not just barely. A clean win, thanks to some kind of level-skip evolution mid-fight. That was the moment it lost me. Total nonsense."
Brunhilde listened to Kevin's assessment in silence, her face unreadable.
As a Valkyrie of the Norse pantheon, she too found it questionable that after both Lü Bu and Adam lost, he Sasaki Kojiro was the one to turn the tide. Even she felt that stretch of logic was a bit much.
But that wasn't the most important part.
Kevin had revealed something more troubling: humanity had already lost the first two rounds. The first contenders were Thor and Zeus? And Zeus he showed up second? That made no sense. Someone of Zeus's status should've been saved for the finale.
And wait was her world… created by a manga artist from another world? And the winners were they all characters from that artist's homeland?
If that were true… should she have just filled all thirteen human spots with fighters from that country and gone for a perfect thirteen-zero sweep?
Brunhilde shook her head, brushing off the absurd thought.
"Group Leader," she asked Kevin in the chat, her tone gentler. "Would you be willing to share what you saw?"
"Of course." Kevin didn't hesitate and uploaded everything he remembered from the twelve episodes of Record of Ragnarok into the chat group.
In another world, Shinobu Kocho was watching the conversation unfold in silence, unease stirring in her heart.
She couldn't shake the thought: was this so-called chat group actually some kind of demonic spell? A blood art from a demon?
It looked normal enough, but that didn't rule out danger. What if it was a trick, a trap designed to lure her in with illusions of safety?
What if she agreed to be Kevin's girlfriend, and that act alone completed some sort of curse condition? If it was truly a blood art, her soul could be corrupted or worse she could be turned into a demon herself.
Dying wasn't what scared her. But the idea of being turned into something against humanity? That terrified her.
She had to be cautious.
Still… the anime Demon Slayer had left an impression. She couldn't help but investigate.
If Tanjiro really existed… if his family really had been slaughtered by the so-called Demon King… if Nezuko, his sister, had truly turned into a demon and yet resisted human flesh by entering a healing sleep instead then perhaps, just perhaps, this group wasn't fake after all.
Even the Spider Mountain Arc seemed plausible.
So she sent out people to begin confirming the details. If Demon Slayer's plot held up in reality, then the credibility of this chat group would skyrocket.
And if the group was real…
Then being Kevin's partner wouldn't matter. The real goal would always be the same: the total eradication of demons.
After all, she had long since begun treating her body with wisteria poison. If she had to sacrifice herself to bring down the demon race, she would do so without hesitation.
But if she lived then maybe, just maybe, she'd find someone. Someone to love. Maybe even start a family.
"Alright, let's find out the truth." Her eyes gleamed with quiet determination.
Back in the chat group.
"That's all? Just those three battles? No other details? Even rumors would help," Brunhilde asked, frowning as she finished reviewing the content Kevin sent.
"Sorry, that's really all I have. The show wasn't great, and honestly, it came across like a nationalistic fantasy. I'm not into that sort of thing, so I didn't pay it much attention." Kevin sounded genuinely apologetic.
"I understand," Brunhilde replied, though her face twitched slightly.