6. Giant Jellyfish

Astria was a kingdom on the mega-planet called Lorn. Well, sort of, as a better wording for it would be that Astria was a kingdom above Lorn.

Lorn has been inhabitable for more than a thousand years. It's unknown what brought it into being, but the world was infested by something called the Chaos Rot. It was a magical plague that transformed everything into its vilest, most evil and corrupted form. Nothing was spared by the Chaos Rot, as it could turn even the inanimate objects into wicked monstrosities.

The kingdom of Astria was hundreds of meters above the ground. It lay on the back of what they called a "strider". It was something like a giant jellyfish made out of rocks and every earthly material.

The strider's back was like a county-sized bowl that kept the last uncorrupted remains of Lorn safe from the outside world.

Inside the large walls of this bowl was an entire ecosystem. There were clouds in the sky, forests and hills, everything for life to prosper.

The importance of heroes came from what the astrians called the "Downdraught". It was a recurring event that happened every three months.

During a Downdraught, the strider would land on the ground and inject its hundred-meter-long tentacles into the earth. This would make it possible for outside forces to climb up the walls and invade Astria. Though this event only happened once per season, its effects could be felt months after it happened.

"This… This is insane!" Pepon grabbed the wine and began gulping it down.

After being introduced around the castle, the five summoned were led into a dining area where they could dine with the highest nobilities. Of course, thanks to almost all of them wearing casual outfits, nobody wanted to sit at the same table as them. That included Suzuki, who disappeared in the crowd of nobilities.

"Hey, I think you had enough already!" Naomi tried to take her wine.

"D-Don't you lecture me with your… Messy and ugly face!" She turned towards Gabriel. "Hey, butler! B-Bring me another wine…!"

Gabriel wasn't offended by being ordered around. In fact, he was happy that he could serve his purpose. After all, even if he was in another world, that didn't change the fact that his main task was to serve his masters.

"As you wish!" He stood up with a smile, but Naomi quickly put him back in his seat.

"Hey, have you lost your mind? Don't let a drunk order you around like that!"

"What? Why not?"

"A-ha! You clearly haven't seen an isekai before! Don't worry, my expertise otaku knowledge will be your survival guide in the harsh world of fantasy!"

Those were some pretty big words and Gabriel did not understand any of them. Still, he was kind enough to hear out the more experienced man.

"When you fall into an isekai the most important thing is to show that people can't screw with you! If you seem weak, you'll most likely get thrown around by the top dogs until there's no more meat they can bite off of you! So, what do you do to appear strong? You act like an asshole, that's how!"

Upon hearing that, Stevie awkwardly laughed.

"Ah, I'm sorry, but I don't think that will work for us."

"Hmph, that's fine! I've prepared for that too!" Naomi pulled up the sleeve of his hoodie, exposing his upper arm. "Come on, hit me!"

Stevie awkwardly recoiled and shook his head. Gabriel, however, saw this as an opportunity.

When Suzuki introduced himself, he mentioned that their bodies weren't the same in their past lives. These were the idealized images of their soul. This would not matter too much for an average human, maybe they would lose some body hair but that's it.

However, Gabriel was a demon. His whole being relied on the power of dark arts, something that might have been unique to his world.

Gabriel clenched his fist and mustered all the power he could.

"Come on!" Naomi said mischievously. "Have you chickened out?"

As Naomi said that, Gabriel released a massive, meaty punch into his arm.

"Gyaah!" Naomi cried out in pain, drawing everyone's attention.

"Huh. You're still standing."

"Have you gone insane? What is wrong with y–– I mean, nothing. Your punch was alright. I think I felt something. Now's my turn!"

"No, thanks." Gabriel pulled away. "I got everything I wanted to know."

His suspicions were proven true. This new body was inferior compared to his previous one. If it was that, then Naomi's arm would've gone flying out the window. However, this body was on par with that of an average human.

Naomi grabbed his seat and awkwardly hopped closer.

"Hey, you like to take orders, don't you? How about I order you to play fair?"

"No one said you would get to touch me."

"Hmph." Naomi pouted.

A devilish idea ran through his mind. If Gabriel doesn't want to partake in his game, then that meant his previous punch should be considered assault and, as such, Naomi had the right to defend himself and his honor.

Naomi clenched his fist and surprised Gabriel with a punch in his arm.

To his surprise, it hurt him more than it hurt Gabriel.

"Gyahh!" He cried out again, shaking the pain off of his fist.

"Didn't you hear me? I said…"

Gabriel stopped. Something was off.

The sensation in his arm, though barely noticeable, but he felt the pain of Naomi's punch. This shouldn't have happened, as his guardian rank makes him incredibly tolerant of pain.

Yet he felt the punch of someone so weak.

He has not only lost his demonic abilities, but also his guardian rank.