Game Over (But Not How I Imagined)

It was an October 31st night in the middle of Shinjuku.

The streets were lit by yellowish streetlights, reflections in puddles, Halloween party posters plastered on walls, and decorations on the buildings and houses. The weather was accompanied by a cold wind, the first drops of rain falling, the sky covered with black clouds and a hidden moon.

"72 hours, five perfect Vampire Slayer speedruns, and a new world record... An epic victory over Dracula... and zero ramen in the house. The hero's destiny: to kill vampires and starve to death..."

Those were the inner thoughts of Ayato Nagatoshi, as he walked out of a convenience store dressed in an old sweatshirt, sweatpants, and nearly torn sneakers, with dark circles under his eyes and a face that said, "I haven't seen sunlight for three days because I'm playing."

After walking with headphones on, listening to video game music from his smartphone so he wouldn't faint on the sidewalk, he noticed the boss fight music playing, and as he turned the corner, he saw a mass of people in costumes running toward him.

Zombies, vampires, anime characters, mariachis, elves, magical girls, all screaming with euphoria and an energy of total chaos.

"What is this?" "A zombie apocalypse... or a clearance sale of cheap merchandise?" Ayato said internally.

While a young man dressed as a demon hunter pushed him hard.

Ayato stumbled, his hands failing to grasp something, and he was crushed by multiple knees and feet.

CRACK! There was a loud snapping sound from his left arm.

"MY ARM! HEY—!" he yelled, which was completely ignored by the noisy crowd.

Once everyone had moved away toward the costume contest, Ayato was lying on the ground, badly injured, his instant ramen squashed, and on the verge of death, having been in a boss fight designed to be lost by default.

From that position, he could see the makeshift stage: LED lights, smoke, and a cheering crowd taking pictures and recording videos on their smartphones.

On the stage, a girl in erotic cosplay as the "Useless Goddess" from a current isekai anime raised a scepter, blew kisses, and flirtatiously waved as she was named the winner of the event.The crowd went wild, shouting things like, "That's my queen!", "My waifu!", "Give me your social media and I'll follow you!"

After receiving the first-place award and hearing the audience's pleas, she performed a suggestive dance, shaking her butt in her costume that left nothing to the imagination.

"The only thing that dead weight is good for~," said a passerby watching the event.

"So I'm going to die for cheap fan service... What a dignified life...", Ayato said cynically, half-fainting, as it began to rain.

"At least they should write on my tombstone: 'I died for a 3D waifu.'" His eyes closed, the external noise muffled until he ended in a plane of total darkness.

***

It was a profound silence, where the phrase "There is nothing after death..." applies, or at least that nihilistic thought was dismissed as a seductive female voice broke the feeling of being in nothingness.

"Come to me... Champion of Darkness... hear my call!" said that voice with an urgent tone.

Ayato feels his body floating. A red light in the shape of a magic circle surrounds him, the air smells of sulfur and withered roses.

However, something is wrong. The circle crackles, distorts... and a white flash passes through him like a gust of wind.

Ayato is sucked in at full speed.

***

Ayato lands with a thud on a church pew. The impact partially awakens him, leaving him confused. He sees stained-glass windows, the smell of incense, and lit candles, standing in front of a sacred image.

"I didn't know there were Western churches in Hell~," he murmured as he regained consciousness.

He slowly straightens up and notices everyone watching him.

"My son! Are you hurt?" a priest said, approaching him, while the other priests, nuns, and parishioners took a step back. The priest narrowed his eyes, holding a crucifix.

"This has to be the weirdest opening cinematic in the world..." Ayato said, noticing that the interior of the church is quite similar to the "Vampire Slayer" series he likes to play.

"Don't tell me...?" he said to himself, given that aside from playing marathon sessions of those video games for three whole days, he also watched a lot of isekai anime, which is why he believes he'll end up being the badass protagonist of stories like that.

"But hey, I'm definitely the chosen hero... medieval world... lots of money, broken abilities, a harem of girls, and..." he said to himself, very confident.

However, when he tries to get up, he accidentally brushes against a crucifix on the bench, causing it to burn his skin. A faint smoke rises from his hand.

"BUT WHAT!? That shouldn't happen if I'm the good protagonist, right?" he said, looking at the mark on his hand.

"He has demonic affinity! He's not welcome in the house of the Lord!" said a deep-voiced priest.

"Wait a minute! That crucifix must be made of nickel, right? Since I'm allergic to that metal..." Ayato said, searching for logical scenarios to explain his situation.

"Holy silver," said an elderly priest, at which Ayato found himself more scared than confused.

"Wait! Maybe I'm a hero with dark abilities?... Although I don't know if that even exists..."

A nun throws holy water in his face. It sizzles like oil on a hot frying pan.

"AAAAH! WITH A DEMON!"- he shouts and curses, at which everyone in the church is both uncomfortable and certain that Ayato has an affinity for dark forces.

The priest opens a large book and begins to recite an exorcism.

Two monks try to approach him with blessed chains.

"Stop! I don't know what's going on! I was on Earth! I was playing Vampire Slayer! Don't judge me by my anime tastes!" Ayato's words expressed fear and nervousness as he backed away.

A parishioner shouts angrily as the town's knights are being called, "It's the New Dark Lord! Look at his eyes!"

Ayato notices they're referring to the bags under his eyes, a result of staying up late. "No, these are gamer eyes, not demon eyes!"

He takes advantage of a gap in the crowd and begins to flee toward the exit, while people throw salt, holy water, and even an offering bread at him.

"WHAT KIND OF WORLD IS THIS!?", Ayato screams while running for his life and his body is emitting smoke due to the objects being thrown at him.

***

Meanwhile, in an elegant but eerie mansion hidden somewhere in the country, in a dark room, a female figure who is practically a succubus bangs on a stone table, yelling at the dark mages and necromancers surrounding the summoning altar.

"All of you call yourselves adepts of black magic!? A bunch of useless people!" the succubus said with disdain, looking to find someone to blame for something that wasn't in her hands.

"Relax, why are you always so melodramatic~?" said a tall, elegant figure in a black cloak smiling from the shadows. His voice was sophisticated, but with a twisted sense of humor.

"No! The Candidate was supposed to appear at the summoning altar, not in a church!" she said in a seductive voice, but with disturbing undertones as she spoke in frustration.

"Interesting… It seems your “champion” is already making enemies before he even knows why he's here. And all because he started his story on the wrong side~", said the figure looking at the window pointing with his skeletal hands, where it begins to rain in that night scene, looking at a destroyed castle.