I Failed to Be a Hero, So I Became the God of Three Realms

The air was still. Tatsuya's eyes scanned the bustling city — Demons going about their daily lives, laughter echoing through the streets, a sense of peace hanging over everything. The reality gnawed at him, a splinter in his mind. This wasn't the hellish landscape he'd prepared for. This wasn't the realm of bloodthirsty monsters they'd been taught to hate.

Tatsuya kept his head low, blending in with the crowd of Demons, his cloak drawn tightly around his body. The city they had entered was known as Umbrosia, the heart of the Demonic Empire. The streets were as lively as any human city, perhaps even more so. Market stalls lined the roads, selling goods that ranged from strange spices to elegant weapons forged in dark steel. The people—Demons—walked through the streets, trading, laughing, talking like any other civilization.

He looked to his left, where Reiji was keeping a wary eye on their surroundings. Hanae and Usagi had already slipped into the shadows, their magical concealment cloaks masking their presence.

Everything seemed… too normal.

They had come to Umbrosia to investigate, to uncover the truth behind the supposed "vacation" of the Demon Empress Nyx and her brother, Luca. Intelligence gathered from their spy network suggested that the Demons were preparing for something—something that didn't seem to involve war or a military buildup. It seemed more like a personal escape, a chance for the two powerful figures to get away from their responsibilities for a while. But this was no ordinary vacation. What could such high-ranking figures want with a simple getaway? The Heroes couldn't shake the suspicion that there was more to it, some hidden plot they weren't seeing yet.

They had two more days to figure it out. Their mission was clear: gather as much information as they could while remaining undetected. With their concealment magic in place, they blended into the crowd and navigated the bustling capital, hoping to gather answers before time ran out.

"Let's stick to the plan," Tatsuya muttered to Reiji, glancing around. "We stay under the radar and see if we can find anything unusual. Nyx and Luca's 'vacation' is too strange. I don't trust it."

Reiji nodded, his eyes scanning the horizon. "We're close. Two more days, and we'll have all the answers we need."

The city was a maze of alleys, towering buildings, and open plazas, each corner revealing something new. As they walked deeper into Umbrosia, something started to feel off—not in a dangerous way, but in a way that made Tatsuya's instincts buzz. The Demons here didn't seem like the bloodthirsty warriors they had been told about. Sure, there were signs of power, but nothing overt. The people here were living ordinary lives. They were going to work, meeting friends, trading goods—nothing that screamed "impending doom."

Then, as they turned a corner, Tatsuya's gaze was drawn to something that made him pause in his tracks.

At the end of the street stood a massive, cathedral-like structure, far grander than anything he had ever seen. It looked like a place of worship—a church. But not just any church. This was a sacred site that even the Kingdom's most devout temples would envy. And what stood out even more? Every Demon in sight seemed to be heading toward it.

"Is that… a church?" Tatsuya whispered, his eyes narrowing.

Reiji, who had noticed the same thing, lowered his voice. "It looks like one. But… why would Demons worship a higher power? Isn't that what we've been fighting against?"

The question hung in the air as they both watched Demons file into the church, some kneeling at the doors before entering. Tatsuya frowned, deep in thought.

Why would Demons, the so-called enemies of everything sacred, have such a devotion to something beyond themselves?

The more he watched, the more confused he became. This was supposed to be the den of darkness, the land of monsters. And yet, here they were, going to church like it was a normal part of their daily routine.

"I don't like this," Tatsuya said, shaking his head. "We need to stay focused. The vacation might be a front, but this... this church is a game-changer."

Reiji looked equally unsettled, but he kept his voice calm. "Let's stick to the plan. We blend in, gather intel, and report back. Two days isn't a lot of time, but it should be enough."

Tatsuya nodded and turned away from the church, pushing his doubts aside for now. They had a mission, and they couldn't afford to get distracted. But even as they continued deeper into Umbrosia, the image of that majestic church lingered in his mind.

The Demons weren't what he'd expected. In fact, they weren't like anything he'd been told at all.

As they made their way to the inn they had rented for the night, a thought nagged at Tatsuya. What if everything we've been taught about Demons is wrong?

"Alright," Tatsuya said as they approached a modest inn tucked away from the main roads. "We should lay low for tonight. There's no sense in pushing further when we've only just gotten here."

Reiji agreed, and the two entered, securing a room for the night. As they set their things down, Tatsuya remembered something. The coinage of the world.

They hadn't been in Umbrosia long, but they'd already noticed something curious about the coins they were using. They were all marked differently depending on which empire they had come from. Tatsuya had exchanged the kingdom's Eldrez for Umbrez at the local exchange. The system was built to facilitate trade between the different realms, as each major empire issued its own currency, but all of them were accepted in most cities.

Eldrez, Valthez, Drez, Holy Kai, and Umbrez—all these different coins had their own values, but every major city seemed to accept them as standard. The exchange rates were based on the economic stability of each empire, but the idea was to foster unity and cooperation, at least on the surface. It felt strange. Each kingdom and empire had its own way of life, its own laws, yet here they were, all operating under one common understanding. Coins were just another tool, one that enabled the flow of information and goods.

"Let's hope this trade system works in our favor," Tatsuya muttered, turning away from the coins. "We don't have time for complications."

The day's events weighed heavily on him. But tomorrow was another day, and they had two more days to figure out what Nyx and Luca were up to. Whatever it was, it wasn't a simple vacation. And Tatsuya would get to the bottom of it—one way or another.

The second day dawned, quiet but full of questions. Tatsuya stood by the window of their rented inn, his gaze cast over the city that never seemed to stop moving. There was still so much they didn't understand. The demons, the so-called "vacation" of Nyx and Luca, the strange church—everything felt off, like pieces of a puzzle that didn't quite fit together.

"We're going to blend in today," Tatsuya said to Reiji, who had just stepped into the room, adjusting his cloak. "We need to learn everything we can—how this place operates, what the citizens are like, and most importantly, why everything feels so… strange."

Reiji nodded, his usual calm demeanor intact. "We'll stick to the plan. We act like normal citizens, like we've always been here. A few days won't be enough, but we might catch something that helps."

The heroes set out for their day of exploration. They walked through Umbrosia's lively streets, taking in the sights of bustling markets and colorful shops. The Demon capital was like any other large city, but the atmosphere was different—there was an underlying tension, an unspoken rule that the heroes couldn't quite pinpoint yet.

Their first stop was a nearby market. A mix of Demons, all kinds and shapes, moved between the stalls, bartering and haggling over goods. Tatsuya and Reiji entered one of the shops under the pretense of shopping for supplies. The shopkeeper, a middle-aged Demon with crimson skin, greeted them warmly.

"You two don't look like locals. What brings you to the capital?" the shopkeeper asked, sizing them up.

"We're just travelers," Tatsuya replied smoothly, trying to keep his tone casual. "Looking to learn more about the city. We've heard a lot about its markets and history."

"Oh? You're from the outside, then?" The shopkeeper's eyes brightened. "You must've heard of the Demon Empress, Nyx, and the great things she's done for our people. In fact, if you're here for a while, you should check out the church she built. It's the holiest place in Umbrosia, where prayers are answered."

Tatsuya's mind raced, his thoughts momentarily snapping back to their earlier conversation about the church. "We've heard about it. What do you mean by 'answered prayers'? How does that work?"

The shopkeeper leaned in, his voice lowering. "Well, it's said that if you pray there, the great God of Creation will grant you skills—powers to make your life easier. That's what people believe, anyway. It's why so many flock to it."

"Skills…" Reiji muttered under his breath. He had been skeptical about the church from the start, but this new information was too strange to ignore. Tatsuya remained silent, letting the conversation unfold.

"We've heard some things about the history of Umbrosia," Tatsuya said, shifting the topic. "About the past Demon Empress, Lilith Umbrosia. Do you know much about her?"

The shopkeeper's eyes narrowed slightly, a flash of respect in his gaze. "Ah, Lilith… She was a legend. Some say she's still alive today, granted immortality by the Gods themselves. They say she lives in the Gods' Realm now, watching over us all. She was a great ruler, but she died a century ago. Her daughter, Nyx, took over after that. Nyx is the one who brought about peace and prosperity."

"Immortality?" Reiji echoed, glancing at Tatsuya with raised eyebrows. "That's an interesting claim."

The shopkeeper nodded. "It's what everyone believes. Some even say Nyx herself is keeping the throne warm for her mother. It's… part of our history. We don't question it."

Tatsuya let the information sink in, but he wasn't convinced. He knew better than to take things at face value. But one thing stood out—something strange was happening in the Demonic Empire. A deep reverence for their past rulers, a strange attachment to immortality, and an even stranger belief in the Gods.

After their conversation with the shopkeeper, the heroes moved on. As they walked through the city, they began to notice patterns. There was a strong sense of unity, but also an overwhelming reverence for rules—rules that seemed arbitrary, even strange. Slavery, for example, was strictly forbidden in the Demonic Realm. If anyone were caught in the act of enslaving another, they would be executed without mercy. It was hard to believe, considering the reputation Demons had in the human realm. But the more they explored, the more they realized that the Demons were not what they had expected. There was a deep code of honor and strict rules that governed them.

Tatsuya's brow furrowed as he pondered the implications. "No slavery? That doesn't add up. From what we've been told, the Demons were ruthless, but now they're following these strict laws? What's going on here?"

Reiji didn't have an immediate answer, but he shared the same concern. They kept moving, gathering more and more contradictions.

By late afternoon, the heroes had visited several more shops and markets, each conversation revealing more about the strange society. They learned that it wasn't just slavery that was forbidden. Leaving the Demon Realm without permission? That would also get you executed. It seemed that the Demons were obsessed with maintaining order—any disruption to their carefully structured society was dealt with harshly.

The most surprising fact came when they spoke to an older Demon who seemed willing to share more freely than the others.

"Have you ever heard of the Gods?" the Demon asked, a curious glint in his eye. "They left our world billions of years ago. Left because of humans. They were frustrated, you see, frustrated by our failure to stop the destruction. The humans were killing themselves, and the Gods couldn't bear it. So, they created us. Demons, born to keep the balance and prevent the humans from destroying themselves. But the Gods… they left."

Tatsuya and Reiji exchanged a glance. This was the first they were hearing of this.

"And yet, Nyx says they've returned," the Demon continued, shaking his head. "Two centuries ago, when Nyx became Empress, she proclaimed that God had returned. And as proof, she constructed that church. She said if we prayed, the Gods would grant us skills, to make us better, to shape our world. That's what she told us, and it's what we believe."

The heroes were stunned. This was all new information, and none of it lined up with what they had been taught. The demons, once painted as cruel and destructive, were now portrayed as a civilization clinging to ideals of order and divine rule, trying to live in the shadow of something greater than themselves.

Their investigation had uncovered more than they'd expected. The demons weren't the monsters they had been led to believe. They were beings caught in the web of their own myths, struggling to uphold an ancient code that no one seemed to fully understand. The lines between friend and foe were starting to blur.

"Well," Tatsuya muttered, "we didn't come here to figure out their history, but we've learned a lot today."

Reiji nodded. "Too much, if you ask me. I think we need to reconsider everything we know. But we've got one more day here. We'll see what happens then."

As they headed back to their inn for the night, the weight of their discoveries hung over them. The church, the myths, the rules—it was all starting to feel like a much bigger web than they had first thought.

The second day had arrived. The heroes, having gathered a decent amount of information on the Demon Capital, knew the time to act was fast approaching. They checked out of their inn and prepared to make their way to the Demon Castle, hoping to tail Empress Nyx and General Luca, who they believed were on the verge of executing some sort of plot. The suspicion that they were planning a "vacation" was still fresh in their minds, but with only two more days before they could verify their theories, it was time to move.

As the group gathered their things and made their way to the exit, the usual bustle of the capital filled the streets. The Demons, seemingly going about their daily routines, paid little attention to the newcomers, which worked to their advantage. They were just blending in—nothing more, nothing less.

But then, a loud crash disrupted the moment.

Tatsuya, walking at the front of the group, was suddenly knocked off balance. Something heavy had slammed into him from the side. A massive Ogre Demon, easily twice his size, had careened into him without warning.

"Oi, watch where you're going!" Tatsuya yelled, managing to catch himself before he hit the ground.

The Ogre, snarling with irritation, didn't take kindly to the outburst. His enormous hand shot out and grabbed Tatsuya by the cloak, yanking him back. "You're the one who stepped in my way, human."

The heroes immediately tensed, but Tatsuya, ever the diplomat when he wanted to be, tried to defuse the situation. "Hey, no need to get all worked up. It's an accident, right?"

But the Ogre was having none of it. "Human scum! You're not even supposed to be here!" he growled, his voice booming across the street.

Before Tatsuya could respond, the Ogre's shouting drew attention. A pair of guards nearby, noticing the confrontation, quickly approached. And soon, more followed. In a matter of seconds, they were surrounded.

"Shit," Tatsuya muttered, taking a step back. "This wasn't supposed to happen…"

The guards, their eyes narrowed with suspicion, scanned the group. "Humans? In the Demon Capital? Who let you in?"

The heroes held their ground, but their cover was quickly slipping. They had no choice now but to fight or flee, and both options felt like traps.

Just as the tension reached its peak, Tatsuya heard it—a voice, no, a message, echoing in his mind.

[[Notice. Individual named "Tatsuya Tanaka" has been granted the Unique Skill "Lurian, Lord of Hope" by "E̷͌ͅĺ̷ͅy̴͓͘s̸̠̊i̴̲̍à̸̲n, P̴̜̍r̸͇̆ŏ̷͉g̷͖̓ě̶̻n̷̹̄i̴͔̇t̷̝͋ŏ̷͈r̴͇̆ ö̸̤́f̴̯̀ H̸̱͝ơ̴̲p̸̩͛e̶̞̋.".]]

[[Notice. Unique Skill "Lurian, Lord of Hope" is activated. Teleporting to a safe location.]]

Tatsuya blinked, his heart racing. He had no time to process the message—it was happening too quickly. The next thing he knew, the world around him shimmered, and in an instant, everything changed. The crowd, the guards, the entire capital faded away as though they were never there.

He was somewhere else now.