Editing/Standardisation: kubor04
Formatting/Extras: APM
Original Translation: Blastron
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This is a world where the Hero and the Demon Lord have fought countless battles since time immemorial.
There has always been, and shall always be, a Demon Lord, a being of such power that its foul reign is used to mark an age. Even if one is struck down, another powerful demon will invariably rise to take its place, the demonic ruler of a new era. This is the immutable rule of this world: although the demons’ onslaught can be stopped temporarily, they can never be truly defeated.
There have been many such Demon Lords, and each has been different from the last. One had such strength that it could split the earth with its mighty fists, leaving new valleys in its wake. Another had complete mastery over the darkest of magics, capable of weaving over a thousand spells in concert. What does not differ between Demon Lords, however, is their insurmountable strength and their unrelenting aggression towards the tribes of man.
The Hero is mankind’s only hope in the fight against the demons. So as there is always another Demon Lord, a new Hero is anointed as well when the previous one is slain. As such, the battle between humanity and the demons shifts back and forth, unceasing, even to this day. Such is the fate of this world.
An especially powerful Hero and Demon Lord fought each other, once, and were so evenly matched that they were forced to bring their full abilities to bear. They were both masters of the rare and powerful [Dimensional Magic], which could warp space and time with godly power. Their great spells crashed against each other, causing the world to scream under the stress, until it erupted in a blast that obliterated both the Hero and the Demon Lord.
The aftershock tore its way through space and time until it reached another dimension. In this dimension, on a planet called Earth, in a nation named Japan, it wreaked havoc on a particular high school classroom. All twenty-six students and their teacher were killed instantly by the violent detonation. The media called it the “mystery explosion”, and it was investigated thoroughly, but none of the dead would ever find out what happened.
Even after they had been reborn into their next life, they wouldn’t ever find out what happened.
After all, their spirits had been torn from their own world by the dimensional riptide and drawn back into the world where the Hero and Demon King had fought. They were scattered across the land, and reborn into this new world.
This is the story of one of those souls.
—–
Aaargh!
I try to let out a scream, but nothing comes out. What’s wrong with my voice? Did I get hurt so badly that I can’t even scream?!
…Okay, okay, calm down, get a grip, think. What happened? I remember that I was in the middle of Japanese Lit, then suddenly everything went white with agony. Sure, I felt like I was going to die back then, but strangely enough I’m not hurting at all right now. All I can see is pitch blackness though, so I have no idea where I am.
…Come to think of it, I can’t really feel anything either. It’s almost like my body is wrapped in something that’s making it impossible for me to move.
Is… is this what it’s like to be in a coma? Oh my god. I don’t want to believe it, but it seems very, very much like this is the case. I don’t really know what happened, but now I’m in a coma.
Nai wa. I can think, I’m conscious, but I can’t move my body, can’t see, can’t hear, and can’t even smell anything. Am I stuck like this? I’m going to go crazy if I’m stuck like this. Nai wa, Nai wa.
Wait. What’s that? I think I can hear something rustling. Okay, my ears work, good, good. That’s a relief… except not, because I still can’t move! If hearing is all that I can do then it’s almost worse! I’m still trapped inside my own head!
Whack!
Ow! What? What?! Did something hit me? Wait! Pain! If I can feel pain, my sense of touch must be working! Okay, okay, calm down, get a grip. Breathe in, breathe out, listen to my body, figure out what else I’ve got. Maybe I jumped to the wrong conclusion with the “coma” thing.
I know I was just thinking that it felt like I was wrapped in something, so maybe I really am? Ha! I am! I’m all tied up! Ahaha!
This isn’t really a laughing matter, though. I still have no idea what is happening. Have I been stuffed in a sack? Am I being kidnapped?
Wait, who the hell would want to kidnap a shut-in loser like me?
Anyhow. I should try to escape. I brace myself as best as I can and push hard against my bonds.
Crack!
Ah! Something broke! This doesn’t really feel like a sack. What the hell is it? It’s got this strange texture, kind of like it’s both soft and brittle at the same time. Well, anyhow, I broke it, so I can clearly make it out just fine! Onward, to my escape!
Snap!
It’s open, it’s open! I crawl out, headfirst, into the open air… and come face to face with a swarm of giant spiders.
Ah. Aaah. AAAAAH?! What’s with this army of giant spiders?! Every single one of them is as big as me! They’re crawling out of some sort of egg-like things, one by one! This explains the noise! This explains that rustling noise!
I take a step back, involuntarily. My foot hits something and I turn to look at it. Is this… another egg? Isn’t this where I just came from, though? Did I just crawl out of one of these eggs? It’s not my imagination, right? This is the same kind of egg as the other ones that are spewing out that spider army, right? It certainly looks like it!
I try to look down at myself, just to see what I look like, but I can’t turn my head for some reason. I try to turn my whole body, and my leg comes into view.
…It’s a spider’s leg.
AAAAAAAAAAH! CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN! Is this really… is this really what I think it is? Is this one of those reincarnated-as-an-RPG-monster stories that are currently in vogue on the internet? So! Show yourself, O godlike being who has whisked me to this strange world! Bestow upon me your favor so that I may right what has been wronged!
…Okay, no god appeared, maybe this isn’t a novel. Not good, not good. Well, I guess I’ve read novels where there isn’t some sort of god or fairy waiting for the hero upon her awakening, but then again in those it’s usually the boy that gets to be the hero and the girl winds up as a haughty princess-type and that doesn’t look like it’s the case either. Great!
I take another quick look at myself. Arranged around me, I can see thin, wiry spider legs. I try to lift one up, and it moves exactly as I will it. These are my legs, all right.
Umf.
Well, this was fun, but I guess I should face reality: this is not a dream.
Somehow, I’ve been reborn as a spider.
APM - Translation 