"...But seriously, I wonder why Nobu never showed up. That woman is a sucker for talented people; she would have absolutely loved Chaldea…" Okita mused to herself, peeling another mandarin while burning her 'Elegance' into Mana Prisms.
Oda Nobunaga… the "Big Fool of Owari." A man who generally did whatever he wanted, but stepped up when his brother's betrayal forced his hand, carving his name into the chaotic Sengoku period.
A hero who challenged the status quo with innovative thinking, sprinting through the Sengoku stardom and nearly seizing control of the entire country.
From the desperate charge at Okehazama to receiving a bag of beans from his sister, to revolutionizing the economy with free markets, to burning down temples that people relied on, to hard-countering cavalry with muskets—he was the embodiment of Sengoku freedom. The reason he was called a Demon King?
When Takeda Shingen wrote him a letter signed "The Protection of the Heavens," essentially telling him he was overdoing it, Nobunaga replied:
"If you are a God, then I am a Demon King!"
But even as he stood on the verge of unifying the land, the dream ended. Akechi Mitsuhide, for various historical reasons, decided to ruin the mood and attacked Honnoji with an overwhelming force while Nobunaga was under-guarded.
"Lord Nobunaga! Lord Akechi has rebelled!"
"For real? It can't be helped! Man, I have so many ideas why he'd do this that it's almost sad. Actually, no, it's not."
He perished in the Honnoji inferno. Singing the famous lines of the Atsumori—"A man's life spans but fifty years"—he left the world in a flash of brilliance.
These days, it's more common to see "him" portrayed as a girl in games. Rikka wondered what kind of hero she would actually be as she continued to move the Nobu on her screen.
"I'd like to meet her, the real Nobu. I wonder if she's cool."
"I can't guarantee she's cool, but I'm sure you'd get along, Master. You two are similar!"
"Similar?"
"Yes! In the sense that you both achieved things no one else could!"
At the exact moment of Okita's smiling affirmation—
"Sorry, Rikka. This is sudden, but it's a Wyv—wait, no. It's an emergency."
A communication window from Olga Marie popped up.
"An emergency?!"
"I'll keep it brief. Blah blah blah, exposition exposition."
"I see, I see. We've connected to another world and things are looking sketchy. Someone is trying to make contact with Chaldea."
"Isn't that a huge deal?! Noooo!"
"Are we deploying? Peace and quiet never lasts long around here, even on vacation."
Before the words were even out of his mouth, Vice-Commander Hijikata was on his feet and armed. He had zero talent for poetry, but his "Kill-Em-All" combat style made his allies say, "I won't lose to him, but I can't exactly beat him either." He was the ultimate fighter of the Tennen Rishin style.
"Don't dawdle! Shinsengumi, move out! Get ready, or do you want me to cut you down myself?!"
The Takuan-fueled Berserker was ready for blood.
"Y-Y-Yes, sir! First Unit Captain, Okita Souji, heading out!" The genius swordswoman sprang from the kotatsu like a jack-in-the-box, grabbing her blade.
"Then Rikka, the secret Shinsengumi member, is heading out too!" Master Rikka followed immediately. If there was a crisis, there was no reason for the Master to sit it out.
"To invade Chaldea… someone has a death wish. There isn't a deadlier garrison in any world than this place."
"Right? To do something no one else would try… huh?"
"To be such a 'Big Fool'… wait."
""...""
The two shared a look. Wait, doesn't that description sound familiar?
"Stop spacing out! Do you want to commit seppuku, Okita?!"
Spurred on by Hijikata's "encouragement," they rushed to the scene.
At the scene of the incident…
"So, you've arrived. You took your time."
Standing at the front was the King of Heroes himself, Gorgeous Gilgamesh. This was the "no-carelessness, no-arrogance" version of the King, the MVP of the Human Order Restoration. If you so much as mentioned him losing to a high schooler, he'd crush you with Uruk-style martial arts and a first-turn Ea.
"I have already read the flow of this disturbance, so I shall leave the cleanup to you. Look there."
He laughed and gestured with his chin.
"Nobu!"
"Nobubu!"
"Nobbu!"
Bizarre little creatures were scurrying all over Chaldea.
"Let go of me, you lot! Stop tossing me in the air for no reason! Curse you! If only I could reach my True Form! If only!"
A small, black-clad Servant they didn't recognize was being tossed around like a mascot, shouting in frustration.
"The foreshadowing payoff was way too fast! Dammit!" Okita screamed.
"Oh! If it isn't Fujimaru Rikka! My senior! It is you, isn't it? The strongest Master who saved humanity! Quickly, help me! You're good at the whole 'beating people to death' and 'slashing' thing, aren't you? I'm in a piiiiinch! Haaaalp!"
The mysterious hero waved cheerfully.
"She's calling for you. Go on, play the hero," the King of Heroes laughed, arms crossed.
"Of course! But Gil, what's going on? Why aren't you doing your usual 'Gate of Babylon' thing?"
Gilgamesh simply snapped his fingers in silence.
—Naturally, he would love to, but…
Ea, the manifestation of the King's greatest treasure—now a sentient, talking "Heroic Princess" and the personification of "preciousness"—lowered her eyes.
From the golden ripples in the air emerged…
"Nobbu!" "Nobu!" "Nobbu!"
A swarm of gold and silver-colored weirdos.
—This is the situation! It seems the mold for the King's Law-Key has connected to a strange place! Instead of treasure, it's just churning out these bizarre creatures! Waaaaah! At this rate, it's not the Gate of Babylon, it's the Gate of Nobu!
Gate of Babylon: Disabled! A shock ran through Gilgamesh!
"It matters not. I still have Ea, the Chains, and the Sword of the End."
"His cheat-code status just accelerated!!"
The King laughed, but this was a crisis. For Ea, the manager of the treasury, this was an unforgivable oversight.
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