The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated - Chapter 23: First Time Joining an Adventuring Party

Welcome to the world that has shed its old skin.

It's an age of avant-garde technologies that break common sense. Science that transcends fantasy. And yet, it has lost its charm in the face of something even more fantastical.

The presence of mana is for those who are blessed by their origins. The Rankers are the true elites of their circles.

A long lifespan is possible. Gaining superhuman powers is feasible. But what use is personal power when the entire existence of your species is on the line?

Things on Earth are much more serious than the general populace is aware of. A threat of the unknown looms over the existence of everything living and otherwise.

Humanity may soon need to leave the only place it calls home. And seek shelter somewhere else in the infinite universe.

Who would find the Oasis for humans who have never been so powerful or as helpless as they are now? Will it be the hero they asked for? Or will it be the not-a-hero they need?

What happens when that not-a-hero gains one of the most broken powers?

===

I am lost and found

In the world of dreams

My serenity awaits

Amid the banshee screams!

Within mayhem, I'll find my reason

Within sorrows, my bliss

In the darkness, I'll see my light

In the desert, my oasis!

- Grayback

Side story of Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon bundled with the first press release of the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th Blu-ray volumes of both seasons of anime.

This side story follows Asama, Kimi and Mitotsudaira aboard Musashi one year before the beginning of the main story, as Asama is considering to create a music band together with her two friends for the next festival in Aki, a territory under the governance of K.P.A. Italia.

Living together with my ex-husband?

Sarah never thought she would one day meet Michael, her ex-husband, again in the operating room with his body full of wounds and needing treatment from her.

They were already divorced for three years, and Sarah didn’t have a good memory of the man. If she could… she would have let him die. However, she was a doctor, and a doctor's job was to save patients.

Sarah immediately regretted her decision to save the man because it turned out that Michael had amnesia and remembered that they just got married!

To make matters worse, she stupidly accepted her ex-in-law's request to pretend to remain Michael's wife while taking care of him. Why did she do that?

However… during the time she spent with her ex-husband, Michael's attitude was very different from what Sarah had last remembered. He was very gentle… and loving. It made the feelings she thought were gone, come up to the surface.

Would Sarah be able to deal with her feelings? What would happen when Michael's memory suddenly returned? Would his attitude stay the same?

=============

EXCERPT:

“Wifey,” Michael called, looking at Sarah who was lying beside him.

“Hm,” Sarah answered curtly, not looking at Michael.

“I think I'm healthy.”

Sarah's body stiffened when she heard that. Was Michael healthy? Did that mean he had remembered everything? Would he scold her for tricking him?

“Wifey? Why are you silent? I think I'm healthy and I can do it,” Michael said quietly.

“What do you mean?” Sarah finally looked at Michael with raised eyebrows. “Do what?”

“Making babies.”

JAYDEForged in the crucible of Xi Corporation’s labs, Jayde—once known only as SN1098—is a genetically engineered super soldier, her body honed to a razor's edge through decades of fighting humanity’s brutal wars. Her rebellion against her creators sparked a desperate battle for her people’s survival, only to end in betrayal and a fiery death on Crypso 3Q3U, her sacrifice shattering the corporate chains binding thousands of GESS lives. Yet death is not her end. Jayde awakens, impossibly, in the tortured body of a young girl on a strange world untouched by the technology she knew—no starships, no replicators, no blasters, only the primal pulse of magic. Bound to an ancient artifact pulsing with secrets, she must navigate a realm of powerful mages, mythical creatures, and lurking monsters, her old instincts clashing with the arcane forces now at her command. Her soul, scarred by battle and betrayal, carries a darkness that threatens to consume or redeem her as she carves a new path.RENRen, the fierce demon king, stands as the last bulwark against his race’s extinction, his heart a furnace of primal fury. To save his people and halt the malevolent Zartonesh’s invasion of the realms, he must venture to the Lower Realm, where the Devil Wars first ignited. His fate entwines with a young woman—Jayde—whose soul, steeped in shadow, stirs the ancient beast within him. Her vast, untamed power could be the key to salvation or the doom of all he fights for, her presence a spark to his fire, a bond that could forge or shatter destinies.AN EPIC JOURNEY OF MAGIC AND REDEMPTIONJayde trades her blaster for a sword, stepping alone into a universe where magic hums like a Centauri war-chant, guided only by a mysterious artifact that whispers of forgotten truths. She journeys across dimensions, learning the art of spellcraft, forging alliances with unlikely companions, and facing enemies born of myth and nightmare. As she grapples with the darkness within her soul—a remnant of her past life’s pain and betrayal—she searches for her true-mate, a bond that could anchor or unravel her. Will she master the magic of this strange world and rise as its savior, or will the shadows she carries bring ruin to all she holds dear?WARNING: This tale unfolds as a slow-burning romance, weaving love and loss through a tapestry of magic, sacrifice, and defiance, as Jayde’s legacy burns brighter than any star.