The sun had long begun its descent when Reiji stood on the rooftop of Kuoh Academy, the breeze teasing his dark coat, golden eyes narrowed in quiet observation.
Below, near the old building rarely used by students, a presence flickered—wrong and out of place. Its form was humanoid, but its silhouette pulsed with a dark aura. Wings of obsidian feathers unfolded in the dying light.
"A Fallen Angel," Reiji murmured.
But it wasn't the creature that caught his attention first. It was the girl cornered by it.
Short purple hair, innocent eyes wide with terror, a delicate frame shaking as the thing approached her. A disguise? A trap? From the fragments of information his system had granted, he already knew: not everything in this world was as it seemed.
[System Notification]
Trigger Condition Met: Witnessed Supernatural Phenomenon.
New Functions Unlocked: Basic Devil Energy Comprehension | Battle Instinct Lv.1 | Tactical Interface Lv.1
Mission Unlocked: "Interfere or Observe?"
• Objective: Choose whether to act or remain hidden.
• Reward (if Act): Minor Magic Circuit Awakening + One Random Spell from the Archive
• Reward (if Observe): Foresight Skill Lv.1 + Mission Tree Expansion
He considered the options for less than a second.
He had ruled an empire with nothing but wisdom and an unbreakable will. He would not remain a bystander now.
"I never learned to fight in my past life," he said, removing the Kuoh blazer with practiced calm. "But I mastered thousands of theories... and studied every art of war my nation ever produced. Let's see how much knowledge is truly worth."
He leapt.
The Fallen Angel—Dohnaseek, a minor figure in the original "story" the System had described—didn't even register his presence until it was too late.
Reiji landed in a calculated roll, using the momentum to slide between the girl and her would-be killer. The girl collapsed behind him with a yelp.
Dohnaseek sneered. "You've got guts, human."
Reiji's hand extended, fingers forming a sigil drawn from half-formed memory—something the Genius System had lodged in his mind only hours ago.
A light-blue glyph shimmered briefly in the air. Weak. Incomplete. But real.
He had just cast magic.
"Let me be clear," Reiji said, standing tall. "If you want to harm her, you'll have to go through me."
The fallen angel scowled. "And what are you, exactly? Some wannabe exorcist?"
"No." Reiji's voice was calm, authoritative, cold. "I am the king of nothing. But I learn everything."
The battle was short. Not due to power—but brilliance.
Reiji didn't fight like a rookie or a brawler. He calculated every step, every feint. Using scattered debris to obscure vision. Angling his movement with the setting sun to blind his opponent. Manipulating elemental particles—barely perceptible strands of wind—to force Dohnaseek's aim off just enough.
His spells were rudimentary, but evolving in real time. The more he moved, the more he understood. His body adjusted, techniques modified mid-use. Every hit he took only fueled his resolve.
When a basic kinetic glyph struck Dohnaseek square in the chest—too weak to kill but enough to send him sprawling into a tree—the girl scrambled to her feet.
She looked at Reiji, her lips trembling. "Y-You saved me…"
Reiji turned. "Stay hidden. This isn't over."
Dohnaseek rose again, furious, readying a light spear—but something halted him. A familiar pressure crackled in the air.
And then, behind Reiji, a voice.
"Oi, oi... what's all this?"
Issei Hyoudou, panting, his Sacred Gear faintly glowing on his arm. Behind him, Rias Gremory stepped through a magic circle, arms folded, crimson hair flowing like royalty returning to her court.
The game had just changed.
Later that night, Reiji stood beneath a lamppost, watching the stars as the soft hum of the System echoed in his mind.
[Mission Complete: Interfere or Observe? — ACT PATH SELECTED]
Reward: Minor Magic Circuit Awakening | Spell Gained: Aer Sigil – Wind Disruption
Bonus: Rias Gremory's Interest +10 | Tactical Interface Upgraded to Lv.2
He didn't smile. He didn't laugh. He simply let the knowledge settle.
This world...
It wasn't his. And yet, it was strangely familiar.
The next morning, as he walked to school, Reiji's thoughts drifted back to the explanation the Genius System had given him when he first awakened.
[System Tutorial – Contextual World Overview]"You have been reincarnated into a world that follows a structured 'story' similar to the serialized literature of your previous life. Here, it is called an 'anime,' but to you, it will function like a living novel—one that can change and evolve based on your choices."
He didn't fully understand what an "anime" was. To him, it sounded like a serialized mage-epic or one of the long, fantastical war stories scholars loved to write back in his realm.
But this time, he was in the tale.
And that changed everything.
The "original script," as the system called it, was merely a guide. A foundation. Events would still unfold, but his presence had already begun to warp the sequence.
"Fate... is no longer absolute," he said aloud, passing by the school gates. "Now, I write the story."