Deities of Labanan

Fidel heard faint sounds of conversation from a few feet away, and it stirred his consciousness awake. However, he didn't move or get up from his laying position, but instead just strained his ears to eavesdrop on the people that were discussing.

"Girby Kief, this is simply outrageous! Why would we allow aliens from another world to trespass into Labanan?!" A silvery voice bellowed.

"As I said, Lady Isha, we don't have a choice. Following the Four Heavenly Wishes, each of the four races is to be granted whatever they wish for a single time as long as it complies with the Lines of Divinity." A much older and calmer voice replied.

"But this only happened because we didn't foresee nor account for it! Something like Otherworldly Summoning should be taboo!"

"We can do nothing about it now, for it is already far too late."

"What do you mean too late?! It's never too late to change things!"

"Yes, but that would be considered foul play, changing things just because it is not in our favor."

"Hmph! Is that so? Have at it, then."

Isha turned away and snubbed him. Then suddenly, she switched targets and addressed someone else gruffly.

"And you, lowly mortal. What gave you the balls to dare eavesdrop on a dialogue between deities?"

When Fidel heard her words, he instantly thought, 'Crap. I got caught.'

Isha put her elegant hand forward and uttered, "Rise for me."

His body then started to float upwards. For a moment, he struggled hard in an attempt to regain control of his being but soon found out that he couldn't move a single muscle fiber, as it felt like he was being gripped and restrained by a giant, invisible hand.

What entered Fidel's view was an otherworldly beauty with soft, elegant facial features that could calm down any torrential rain or storm. Isha looked magical like a fairy, with her abundant flowing yellow-green hair that reached to her waist, bright emerald eyes that seemed to contain nature within them, and eye-popping long pointy ears which were clearly inhuman. And her height, from what Fidel could estimate, appeared to be eight feet tall.

"You insolent insect. I should give you the biggest honor of personally disposing of you. What do you think?"

Currently, however, her marvelous face was distorted into an absolute rage. The grip gradually got stronger and tighter until it was almost impossible to breathe. Fidel's constitution naturally turned pale blue as a result; if he wasn't released a few seconds from now, he would no doubt end up a goner at this rate.

"Now, now, Big Sister Isha. You can't crush one of my people's prized possessions like that. They've dearly wished and paid for it at a priceless cost, after all." A cheerful and playful tone of a kid spoke out.

Though struggling, Fidel reflexively pointed his eyes to the owner of the childish voice. Over there, he found a little boy who looked to be no older than ten-years-old. The little boy had blonde gray hair and grayish-blue eyes which sparkled with a hint of mischief.

He gave Isha a cute and innocent smile, like how an adorable little brother would show adoration to his much older sister.

"Heh. Like I bloody care."

But Isha gave a disdainful smirk back and continued to close her grip on Fidel.

"Kuh…!" Fidel helplessly groaned as his body went completely limp right after.

"Well, that's no good. It looks like I'll have to evoke the Lines of Divinity to stop you, then."

The little boy shrugged his shoulders. But when she heard those words, Isha immediately reacted with a shriek.

"Bathala, you dare?!"

"Only because you have left me with no choice. By my own power, I can't say that I'm able to restrain you and save him. So really, this is on you."

"Grrr…! Okay, fine then! He's all yours."

Isha waved her slim arm and then Fidel was flung across the room before landing hard on the floor in front of the little boy Bathala's feet.

"How are you, mortal? You're doing just fine, I hope?"

"Yep. Never been better. Everything for me has just been fine and dandy."

Fidel gave a powerless thumbs up while his face collected dust on the floor.

"Hahaha! Since you can joke around, I'll take that as a positive sign of your well-being."

"How very thoughtful of you…"

"Yep, that's me alright~! The oh so gracious, cute, and ever so kind Bathala—the Human God in the world of Labanan!"

Sensing that his life was no longer threatened, Fidel got up from the floor and finally took a look at his surroundings. The room he was in couldn't be described as anything other than what you would normally see in the Victorian era. To illustrate: lavish scarlet-colored wallpaper, paintings and art pieces hanging on the walls, red velvety couches and seats, a circular brown coffee table, a working fireplace, one glossy chandelier fixated on the ceiling, and lastly, a fully stacked large bookshelf.

And aside from the unrivaled beauty Isha and the little boy Bathala, there were two other eye-catching characters in the scene. One of the two characters even acknowledged him right away.

"Hearty salutations to you, dear mortal. My name is Girby Kief, and I am the Dwarven God of Labanan. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

A stout, bespectacled old man with a head full of long hair and an even longer beard approached Fidel and offered him a handshake.

"Uhhh… Likewise."

Not really knowing what to do in the yet unknown circumstance, Fidel just awkwardly accepted his hand and shook it. However, one thing was for sure: he knew of these people, and most importantly, he clearly knew and was quite familiar with the world called Labanan.

But the thing that's been bugging him on the inside is—Why?

From what he learned by eavesdropping on their conversation earlier, he and his classmates were supposedly and forcefully summoned here. The term Isha used was "Otherworldly Summoning," and that it should be taboo or forbidden to happen.

'So, it could only be that, right? The summoning of Heroes from another world to save it from inevitable peril and demise; it's the story genre that's been pretty popular as of late…'

Though he himself wasn't actively interested in reading or watching that kind of stuff. What good would that be to him who actually once lived in that sort of fantasy world that authors and readers are only left to imagine and dream of?

Although, he won't deny that he did check out and watch some of them out of curiosity. As for what he thought of it, well…

—That's not important right now.