Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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After finishing his meal, August took a slow walk around the neighborhood before returning to his apartment.

"Strange. Why did everyone keep staring at me?" He stopped in front of the bathroom mirror and rubbed his chin. "Is what I'm planning really that obvious?"

The shop owner had noticed something was off. Pedestrians on the street and even some kids stared at August, as if he were an alien in their neighborhood. Could regular people really sense what he was planning?

"Damn. People in this world are way too perceptive."

Complaining wouldn't help. August had already decided. With Hestia and Lili still in Orario, no one would interrupt him. He went back to his bedroom and looked at the triangular transformation device waiting for him.

To anyone else, it was nothing more than an Ultraman toy.

To August, it was the key to his next experiment.

He grabbed the Esplender and went upstairs. On the roof, August took a deep breath, set down a portable speaker—and used one of his abilities.

[Divine Possession].

"BOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!"

Power filled his lungs as he breathed in.

August pressed the Esplender to his chest and closed his eyes, listening to the city: distant traffic, voices from nearby apartments, and leaves rustling among the flowers and plants on the balconies. A cool evening breeze swept over the roof, carrying all these sounds, and he let them wash over him.

Then his will stirred.

Triumphant music blasted from the speaker and echoed across the nearby buildings. August's eyes flew open, and he let out the loudest roar of his life.

"GAIA!" His voice tore through the brightly lit city.

The ground answered.

Red light burst from deep underground, shooting up with enough force to reach the clouds. People all over the district heard August's roar and turned to look.

At first, most thought some fool was doing a transformation on his roof.

Then they saw the light.

The crimson pillar lit up the night sky. Inside it, a huge red-and-silver figure formed high above the buildings and started to descend.

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"..." One tokusatsu fan standing at his apartment window recognized the silhouette at once. His face went pale, and he unleashed the most desperate scream of his life.

"DON'T COME DOWN! YOU'LL BLOW US ALL AWAY!"

Anyone who knew Ultraman Gaia understood what happened when he landed. He never touched down gently—he hit the ground so hard that dirt, debris, and anything nearby would go flying. If that giant landed in a residential area, the whole neighborhood would be shaken up.

Almost as if answering the man's desperate shout, the half-formed giant flickered and disappeared before reaching the ground. The crimson pillar faded, leaving August alone on the rooftop with the Esplender pressed to his chest.

"Whew..." He lowered the device and looked up at the empty sky. "Come on. Couldn't you all let me have just one proper transformation?"

Everyone nearby let out a sigh of relief. For a moment, they really thought Gaia's famous landing would send the whole neighborhood flying.

The plainclothes police officers stationed nearby were far less relaxed.

"Captain... Should we find him?" A young officer who was a fan of Ultraman, Power Rangers, and Gundam franchises stared at the apartment building.

"Find who?"

"The person who just turned into that giant."

"Find him, my ass!" The captain rounded on him. "If that giant had finished landing, we would've been the first ones sent flying!"

He was told to watch this street, but no one said what to do if a resident summoned a giant. The apartment building shot out a pillar of red light, August's shout echoed across the city, and of all things, it had to be Gaia.

They had almost been flattened by Mother Earth's most destructive son.

The foreign agents near August's home were just as shocked. They had already seen Hestia, a real Goddess, and now a giant had shown up in the same area. Seeing that red-and-silver giant come down from the clouds was almost too much to believe.

Anyone familiar with the franchise knew what an Ultra meant in the stories, and their battles were on a scale people could hardly imagine.

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August realized he had caused a big scene.

Before anyone could show up, he sent a report to one of his contacts on the general staff. It didn't help much—a group of senior officials arrived soon after, and the entrance to his building got so crowded that no one could get in or out.

"Hah... Hah... Hah..."

The older researchers who heard the news stared at August like hungry wolves eyeing a meal. He had brought something into reality that broke every known law of science.

How could a fictional character appear in the real world? What was that giant, really? How did the light form? Could they get samples? Could they recreate what happened?

The researchers were eager to run endless tests on August. But the military officers sitting across from them wouldn't let anyone collect samples without a solid plan. No one knew what that light was or what might happen if they messed with it carelessly.

"August... what have you done this time?"

Commander James had only recently returned to Earth, bringing Jester Karture along for research. Unfortunately, the Dead Apostle couldn't survive in this world. The moment Jester crossed over, his body collapsed into a mass of energy and disappeared, leaving almost nothing useful behind.

Before Commander James could finish handling that failure, August caused another incident right outside his home. He had summoned a giant—and he did it as a casual rooftop experiment.

Commander James's eyes burned with interest. Even if that power couldn't be deployed in battle yet, the image alone carried enormous value.

August understood at once what he thought the older man was planning.

"Don't even start, James," August said, narrowing his eyes. "I know that look."

He could already imagine those middle-aged schemers wringing every possible advantage out of this. Ultraman was already popular with kids, but Gaia came with a different kind of problem.

The name itself came from Mother Earth, and his power was tied directly to the land. Once that connection spread, it would not take long for someone to claim that the Earth had chosen him as its protector. Give it enough time, and people might actually start worshipping him.

Never underestimate how fast people obsessed with myths can turn a fictional hero into a god.

"You don't understand." Commander James coughed several times.

"I know exactly what you're thinking."

"No, you don't." Commander James shook his head. "I'm not talking about publicity."

He didn't care much about publicity. As a soldier, what mattered to him was real combat power he could count on.

Commander James understood August's situation better than most. In other worlds, August was stuck in the middle—strong enough to beat regular people and weaker supernatural beings, but when a real top-tier enemy showed up, he had no way to win. That was when Hestia had to step in and save the day.

Now, everything was different. The limitless potential they had always guessed at was finally starting to show.

For the first time, August had shown a real path to top-tier power.

Planet-class combat power.

The Gaia he summoned tonight might have been just a partial projection, but that didn't matter. It proved August could reach that level, and if he kept improving, the fake image might one day become real power.

"August, you really..." Commander James trailed off and looked toward his fellow officers.

They understood what he meant. One after another, the soldiers gave August a thumbs-up.

"You've done well."

"That's more like it."

"You're finally getting somewhere."

Their eyes showed real approval. The researchers saw August's light as something to study. The soldiers saw someone who had spent months facing monsters, Heroic Spirits, Dead Apostles, and Gods, but never had a sure way to beat the strongest enemies.

Now, he had finally shown them a real answer. They never told August any of this, but their approval was genuine.

"Huh?"

August looked over the group. So they weren't planning to turn this into some publicity stunt after all.

Whatever. He would figure it out later.

For now, he needed to take everyone back to Snowfield.

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