Humanity's Hero Of Despair

The walk to the Hero Principal's office is quiet, the seriousness of the summons weighing heavily on both of us.

Each step seems to weigh more than the one before, a stark contrast to the academy's lively atmosphere just a moment ago. Despite their bright lights and welcoming atmosphere, the corridors can't erase the haunting memories of Keeper Academy's chilling halls and the Principal's stifling authority.

I glance at Zephyr.

His face is stoic, his jaw locked, but I know him well enough to sense his unease. We both remain silent. Avalon Festus's office contains something important, something that can't be treated lightly.

As we reach the richly decorated door, the administrator halts and motions for us to go inside.

"The Hero Principal is expecting you," the administrator says simply before leaving.

After a brief hesitation, I open the door.

Avalon's office isn't at all what I expect.

Warm sunlight filters through the tall windows, casting a soft glow across the room. The walls are lined with shelves overflowing with books, strange artifacts, and trinkets, mementos of Avalon's adventures over the years.

In the back stands a large desk, its polished surface spotless and organized, with a single framed photograph of a smiling woman and two children positioned next to a stack of parchment.

Avalon Festus himself stands by one of the windows, his hands clasped loosely behind his back. When he turns, his expression is calm and kind, but there's a weight in his eyes that sets my nerves on edge.

"Please," he says softly, his voice carrying none of the commanding tone I remember from the entrance speech.

"Feel free to come in and sit."

I quickly look at Zephyr before moving forward, the thick rug silencing our steps. Despite the seriousness of the discussion, the chairs in front of the desk are so comfortable, they almost feel out of place.

Avalon moves slowly to sit behind his desk, folding his hands in front of him. He stares at us for a beat, seemingly choosing his words with great care.

"I'll ask for your patience," he begins, his voice measured and quiet.

"This matter is... delicate. I apologize for taking both of you out of your classes for the day. I know how excited you must have been. Also, please refer to me as just Avalon. When you are with me, there is no need for formal titles."

Avalon opens a drawer from his desk and takes out a magical device shaped like a coaster that seems infused with some light magic. He places it on the table in front of Zephyr and me before speaking again.

"Before I display what's on here, I want to first let you both know the Tarondar Kingdom has made great advancements in understanding light magic, though we haven't made this public information yet. By studying the elemental sphere of light, we've learned a little about how to manipulate it to our needs for the people."

Avalon taps the coaster-like device.

The coaster suddenly channels its light magic to project an enormous model of a fearsome dragon. Both Zephyr and I move back into our chairs, not expecting that to happen.

"This is a projected model of the S-Class Fire Dragon named Darkhar Infernos. We decided not to project this model to scale because if we did, it would probably be the size of this building, if not larger. Now, Darkhar Infernos is also known as the Emperor of Thyndara or Emperor of Dragons. Thyndara being the continent where the dragons mainly live and were born from."

Avalon moves up from his desk and starts circling the 3D model of the dragon, pointing out various aspects of the wings, mouth, teeth, and eyes.

"See all these points here?"

"Any of these with a direct hit could kill you on the spot. It would be very difficult to defeat the Emperor of Dragons. We would be doomed if he attacked us unless we were very prepared. Nico here is the key to defeating him."

Zephyr stands up from his chair with a confused look on his face.

"I mean, it can't be that hard, right? I'm only asking because Nico and I, as well as our friends, fought a copy of an A-class level dragon named Frost Fang back in our first year and won."

Avalon sighs and sits back in his chair. He replies to Zephyr.

"If it was that easy, then we wouldn't be having this discussion. First, copies of the real thing are at maximum fifty percent of the power of the actual creature. Meaning, you only fought Frost Fang at fifty percent power."

"Secondly, the difference in strength between A-level and S-level is incredibly vast. It would take an incredible amount of people using tenth affinity level magic to stand a chance against an S-class, or we use eleventh affinity magic, which only Nico and his sister can use."

Zephyr nods his head in understanding and slumps back into his chair. It looks like we've got our work cut out for ourselves. Zephyr already knows he has a lot to do as General of the Tarondar Military.

"I don't know how much information either of you has on this matter related to the dragons. The main thing is we can't allow this information to spread until it's the right moment. Our scouts have also reported supposed dragon attacks in our neighboring nations of the Veltharian Republic and the Seylora Theocracy. Both of which are closest to Thyndara."

Zephyr and I exchange glances again. We're both probably thinking the same thing.

"Does this mean you're telling us to investigate these problems?" I ask, hoping the answer is no.

"Not necessarily. King Grey wanted me to inform you of the main issue ahead of time so he can discuss the more pressing matters related to the dragons. Even as the Hero Principal and royal advisor to the throne, I don't know everything. All I do know is you both play an important role."

Avalon gets up from his desk again, and this time, heads toward the office door. He opens it and steps to the side.

"Our time together for now is ending. King Grey has prepared a carriage and a Court Mage of wind to escort you down to Stonelight. Good luck to both of you. I hope to see you both at Hero Academy soon. Don't worry about your assistant teaching job, Nico, I'll let your professor know of the changes."

I get up at the same time Zephyr moves from his chair. We both walk out of the office door and head for the entrance to the academy.

Whatever comes next better be worth it. I hope my friends will know I'm okay.