Everything is Anime!

"Since you've already seen through me, there's no point in pretending anymore. Be a good boy and become my meal—at least then you won't suffer as much."

With a sinister grin, the woman's once-normal eyes turn a shade of crimson. The kagune inside her body rapidly expands, tearing through flesh and clothing. Thin strands of blood cling to her skin, giving her a bizarre, grotesque appearance.

A ghoul's kagune serves as both their weapon and a manifestation of their inhuman biology—tough as steel, and coupled with physical abilities far beyond those of ordinary people. Normal blades don't faze them. To a typical human, running into a ghoul is a death sentence.

"Kinda reminds me of Doctor Octopus."

Hikaru murmured under his breath.

The woman didn't hear him, as the rain was pouring harder by the second.

"Heh heh heh... Little brother, big sis is going to eat every last piece of flesh off your bones, bit by bit."

Having returned to her true form, the woman found Hikaru's scent even more enticing. Saliva mixed with rainwater began to trickle from her mouth.

She advanced on Hikaru at a leisurely pace, confident he had no chance to escape. Like many predators that enjoy toying with their prey, she was no exception; the victim's final struggles only make the meat firmer and tastier.

Hikaru said nothing. He simply withdrew the hand that had been in his pocket.

A faint glimmer flashed—and suddenly, a silver longsword, shaped like a medieval knight's blade, appeared in his palm.

He gripped the sword with ease, its weight seemingly negligible. Expressionless, he gazed at the woman before him.

Hikaru was not a native of this world. He had come here, soul and memories intact.

Even his body was originally his own, simply granted a new identity in this place.

Of course, he was still an orphan—but at the age of twelve, he had bound himself to a "golden finger" (a mysterious cheat-like ability).

He didn't know its origins. It gave him a "starter gift pack," from which he obtained the "Demon Slayer Holy Sword" now in his hand, and also granted him an ability called "Heaven Rewards Diligence."

That ability works like the protagonist's talent in a xianxia novel, letting Hikaru keep improving without limit, in anything he attempts. Even if he fully masters a certain skill, he can push past its peak to grow even stronger, whether it's physical constitution, swordsmanship, magic, cursed energy, or any sort of artistic skill—calligraphy, painting, singing, and yes, even bedroom arts.

Once he'd bonded with this system and learned from the golden finger that this was a "mixed anime-fusion world," Hikaru abandoned most of his free-time amusements and devoted himself fully to training.

Ordinary people need months of hard work to see results, but his golden finger let Hikaru see tangible daily progress. Even at a young age, he had developed eight-pack abs and a perfect physique—towering among the relatively short locals, like a crane in a flock of chickens.

This cheat-like ability had one other core feature: the "World-Crossing Gate."

[World-Crossing Gate]: Allows travel between different worlds. Requires the energy gauge to reach 100% before activation. Once activated, the energy gradually depletes. When it hits zero, you are automatically forced to leave the current world. You can choose to depart earlier, but you can only reactivate the gate once it's fully recharged.

Part of why Hikaru could remain so calm when facing a ghoul was thanks to his past experiences. Right after binding with the system, the World-Crossing Gate's energy stood at 100%, and his first destination was the Campione! universe.

Early on, he struggled a great deal, but ultimately succeeded in becoming an "auxiliary apprentice" in the prestigious Italian magic order, the Bronze-Black Cross.

With "Heaven Rewards Diligence," it took him just a few months to learn all the sword and magic arts taught by the external division of that magical organization.

Had the gate's energy not run out, he would've been able to attain the honorary rank of "Great Knight," an advanced title for magicians. Though it's not exactly rare, for a mere twelve-year-old it would have been extraordinary. Across all the magical associations in southern Europe, only two other prodigies from Bronze-Black Cross and Copper-Black Cross surpassed him in raw talent—but Hikaru never crossed paths with them and knew little about them.

When Hikaru saw his gate's energy nearing depletion, he faked his own death during a mission to eradicate a group of cultists—left no body behind—and pulled off a flawless disappearing act. No one knew how long it might take to refill that energy once he was gone.

After that, he took up life in the grand anime-fusion world, settling into a second chance at high school.

He chose to attend classes for a very specific reason: the school itself was special.

Its name was Kuoh Academy, and among its student body were many familiar names: Rias Gremory, Akeno Himejima, Issei Hyoudou, Touka Kirishima, Mai Sakurajima, and so on.

Likewise, this world teemed with hidden monsters: ghouls, cursed spirits, vengeful ghosts, and devil-kind that rose to the level of the supernatural.