The Untrusting Hero From Another World

2026, Hailey, Age 18

Five months, half a year since Ryan 'died'; half a year since we buried an empty casket. Since that day, I've been working to try and uncover what happened. Dad refuses to discuss it. He insists that Ryan was in there but I know what I saw. In what had become a daily ritual for me, I inspected Ryan's half of the room, only to find Japanese DVDs and Manga. How much of a geek could he be? Still, I would watch and read them on occasion, but only for research! I finished my hunt for the day, only to receive a text from my informant. Dad was at work, so I could leave no problem. I rushed out to the shop Ryan would frequent. He chose it for nostalgic reasons, "Hey, Eric," I said softly as we sat down on a bench near the anime section.

"I'd track him down here every time, you know? He'd insist we leave. He'd kick my ass all without so much as leaving a stain on this place. Rinse and repeat the next week."

"Almost sounds like you were close in a weird way."

"That's one way to put it, I guess. Now, let's get to business. Don't want to get haunted because Ryan thinks I'm putting the moves on you."

"Ha! Even if you did, you wouldn't get very far." Eric was a surprisingly good guy after Ryan's 'death,' but I've had friends at work and school trying to hook me up with better guys than him, and it never worked. Relationships are just too much trouble that I don't want to deal with, "So, what do you have for me?"

"One of my boys started a post online, looking for similar 'Missing Body' situations. Most of the replies were trolls, but two seemed genuine. One claimed it was his sister. The other was a mother saying her son's body just poofed before she could even see it."

"How do you know they weren't trolls too?"

"It took some work, finding two dead folks whose stories matched, but check it out," he explained before passing me his phone and showing two news articles that were translated to English from Japanese and French, respectively. The headlines read as follows

'High School Girl Murdered in Botched Armed Robbery'

'Traffic Accident Claims Two Lives'

According to them, both died around the same time Ryan did. Even weirder, they died saving someone. Makoto Fujisaki took a bullet to the head protecting her brother, and Jaune Allard fell into traffic, fighting a man who intended to force himself on a prostitute. Three bodies all vanished within the same month, all dying to protect someone else. This could be a lead, but I don't know where it'll take me. Regardless, I looked to Eric, "Can you get me in contact with these folks?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'll text you their info."

"Thank you. We may finally be onto something."

One Thousand Years Before Summoning Day, Ryan, Age 15

Stepping out of my tent, I make sure I have everything prepared for our dreaded meeting today with the 'King.' There are going to be eight of us there. Add our Heroic Spirits, and that makes eleven. So why do I feel like we're about to have a real mess on our hands? Regardless, I decided to check in on Zeddral and that woman he's been talking to. I had some news to give him before we left for the mission. Over the past week, he and that Banshee lady have been talking nonstop, and their annoying debates have changed from how to run a country to how to improve upon each other as people. It would seem I had just walked in on such a fight.

"All I'm saying is that you need to be a bit more level-headed. Do you want to be in the military forever if you win? If not, most people don't want someone who'll snap the moment things don't go their way."

"Then I'll worry about that when we get there! And what do you mean by 'if'? Last I checked, we have the top enemy general in a cage!" Zeddral's anger was apparently her biggest concern. Kinda funny since the one time I met the guy, he was pretty composed despite snapping at Riley once.

"Am I interrupting?" I asked, quickly breaking up the argument between the two. Zeddral quickly turned away, trying to hide his embarrassment and making me really question if he was really this big bad demon king.

"No, not at all. Any luck?"

"Jack and I found a cave close to where Xandric fell. If it weren't for this meeting, I'd say we should go after him right now. As it stands, though, we need to trust he can find his way out."

"Trust, huh? Been a while since I've done that, but if he really is my son, something like that won't stop him." His response was soft-spoken, as if not wanting to show any weakness, "Can you answer something for me? What happened in my world? I don't want to know too much, but to be so bad that my son would turn against me..." He trailed off, and I could tell, despite his attempts to look tough, that it was really bugging him. With a sigh, I lean against the rock. Guess I have to give out the exposition.

"I don't know the full story, but according to Xandric, whoever killed your wife did so with the intent of starting this war. My guess is they want to bring out your bloodlust. A Demon's Void eats away at them the longer it's left alone, so imagine how bad it would be if you let your bloodlust slip." I could see the confusion written across his face. All the talk of Voids probably goes over his head, but his somber face quickly turns to a determined one.

"I see. Well, I won't pretend to entirely understand, but if my bloodlust will be that much of an issue, then you have my express permission to stop me. Am I clear?" He insisted, hitting me with the general voice. Seriously? As if we weren't going to do that anyway. Still, I nod and get a smirk back in response, "Good. Now, I should get my men ready."

"Right. We leave in thirty," I informed him before going to meet up with the other Heroes and Eliza. While doing so, though, I felt a kick at the back of my leg. It was an attempt to catch my attention, and the stubby bastard succeeded as I turned around.

"Hey, you lads and lasses about to head out?"

"Yeah. What about you old timer? Shouldn't you be in bed?" Jaune asked jokingly, "Though, I guess you're not too old these days."

"Aye, and just because I'm retiring as a general doesn't mean I've given up entirely. That would bring shame to us, dwarves," He said with a light chuckle as he rummaged through his pockets. He then held out three medallion-shaped items, each one matching a respective color, "Still, prison provides an excellent time to find new hobbies between torture sessions. They had to remove all the security functions for my room after they were sure I couldn't move because I kept using them to make tools to escape. I figured I could apply them to Research and Development for the Rebellion."

"What do these do?" Makoto asked

"Those walking tanks of yours? I believe you called the Goliaths? Those things hold a great amount of power. These medallions will connect you directly to them, unlocking your suit's full power for a brief time. Just lock them onto your chest, and you're good to go."

"How brief?" Jaune followed up, looking concerned

"I'd say about ten minutes. Any more than that, and whatever is powering those things may begin to eat away at you." Great, so now we're using Darkness as a weapon. Still, until we can upgrade our suits on our own, this is a good last resort.

"Alright, but what the hell?! Why don't we get a power-up! C'mon, make me like one of those ghosts from Puc Man," Jack exclaimed, clearly jealous of our new ability.

"Save my life once, and maybe I'll consider it," Felmi joked, and with that, we were off. It was a long few days, not to mention tense. We barely talked the whole way. When we reached the capital, though, there was no army waiting for us. Good thing since they may have panicked if they saw Zeddral's men waiting at our backs. Everyone went about their day, blissfully ignoring the eight of us despite the wanted posters. We entered the castle completely unopposed, which made me nearly jump out the window. This is all going too well. In no time, we reached the throne room. Two rows of guards stood parallel to each other on each side, and up the stairs were the King and the Puppet Master.

"Hey! You guys finally showed up. I was worried you'd just ignore me!" Jarred exclaimed as he approached, his voice seeming surprisingly chipper. We all tensed up almost immediately, "Easy there, I'm not here to fight! Actually, I want your help."

Xandric, Age 116

How long has it been? At least a few days. Yet, in this bottomless sea of Darkness, I feel... calm. I've felt no fatigue or hunger. Is this how the Generals felt when Ritto turned them? It's like I don't care; anything could happen to me, just whatever. Whatever? Since when would I say that? Not like it matters. I've been trying to get out for so long and haven't made a dent.

'So that's it? You're just giving up?'

'What happened to ending the war?! Was all that just a lie!'

My eyes snap open as I look around. The eyes were back, "So you finally speak up again? What do you want?"

'To get you back to your senses! What the hell is wrong with you? This isn't who we agreed to take control?!'

"And you have a better idea? I haven't been able to get out in days."

'And that's a good enough excuse to give up?' That voice specifically drew my attention. It was a scolding voice, one that I rarely heard, but I knew when I did, I was in deep trouble. I turned, and sure enough, among the eyes, my mother took physical form, 'No son of mine is going to give up! War or not, you'll be King one day! How can that happen if you give up now?'

"Okay, fine, then tell me how! Because the way it looks, I'm stuck here! I can't do this on my own!"

'Then don't do it on your own. What was it Leon told you?'

Suddenly, I was back in the sea. But something was different. I could feel my hunger and fatigue. The illusion of calm was broken. Panicked, I tried to pull myself out when I noticed something strange coming from my Shifter, a cloudy black haze, as if something wanted to come out.

Leon, Age 18

After eating, I returned to the strange lake where Xandric had vanished. I honestly didn't know if he was really General Banshee's son. It sounded so stupid, but what do I know about magic? Besides, he saved me, "Still in there? That worm you made me eat was actually really good. I've yet to recreate it. So get back up here, will ya? No child of two powerful generals would go down so easy." I don't know how many times I've called out to him. Maybe it's just the isolation getting to me, some desperate desire for companionship in these dark, lonely caves. Still, I doubted he would ever come back until suddenly, something burst out. I quickly backed away, remembering what he said about this goo's corrupting properties. When I peeked out from behind one of the rock walls, Xandric stood there atop a pile of bodies. They weren't human, though; dark blue ethereal beings somehow given form. Xandric slowly walked down, looking exhausted. He nearly hit the cold stone floor, but one of the beings caught him. She looked much older, and she had wings, but I'd know my general anywhere, "General Banshee..."

"That's Queen Banshee to you," She said with a confident grin, "Keep an eye on my son, will you?" I was stunned but just barely managed a nod of my head, "Thank you, Leon. I can always trust you," she said before fading away, along with all the bodies that helped push him out

"We... We need to get back to the others. But first, I'm starving!"

Makoto, Age 15

We all stood motionless, unsure of where this would go. I personally wanted nothing more than to rip him apart, and the moment I'm given the chance, I'll happily do so. But for now, we should hear what he has to say, "You want our help. What do you mean?" Prince Thaddeus asked, showing the initiative I would expect.

"Obviously, I'm going to create a real ideal world. Thaddeus came close, but the discovery of Darkness and the creation of the Demons ruined it. So I'm going to stay back here, puppeting your father. With chrono-lock active, I'm functionally immortal so I can last the thousand years. I just need people to help me out."

"And you think we would?" Jaune asked

"It wouldn't work anyway, right Jack?" Jacob interrupted

"Right. If this world really is what I think, he'll just be making an alternate reality while his comrades suffer in the original."

"Your point?" His voice turned cold, shocking each of us. How could he just brush that fact off, "Don't get me wrong, I do care about Riley and Cass, but at the end of the day, all three of us have one goal. We just want to be happy. If that comes at the expense of our teammates, so be it."

"What happened to you, Jarred? You were never like this before," Eliza argued, stepping forward as she tried to fight off the tears, "Sacrificing your friends for your own happiness? You would never do that!"

"Back when we met, maybe. But I've had a lot of time to think, and you know what I decided? I spent all my original life helping others, robbing people so that the homeless of my country could live and get a taste of wealth. Then I died, and I continued to do that, and my reward... going back home to the world that killed me? No. For once, I'm going to be happy. You've thought about it too, right Makoto? Here, you're a hero! You don't need to worry about those pesky responsibilities that were forced upon you, and everyone loves you! Why not just enjoy that?"

Everyone looked at me as if waiting for whatever I would say. Eventually, I stepped forward with a glare that could kill, "You do have a point. I'd love nothing more than to just say 'screw it' and throw my responsibilities aside. But I've got people who love me waiting for me to come home, and I would never abandon them for my own happiness! I'm going to go home, make their lives better, and you still need to pay for your crimes in our time."

I looked to Ryan, who simply smiled before turning to Jarred, "You heard the lady. Guess negotiations have broken down."

"Yes, sadly..." He grumbled before clearing his throat, "Your Majesty, help! The citizens are revolting!! I would advise deploying the guards!"

"What?! Ungrateful swine! Make an example of them!!" The King finally spoke, still under the effect, as he pushed a button on his throne. Alarms started blaring, "Red Alert, Red Alert! An immediate curfew has been issued! Anyone not in their homes is to be killed on sight!" the announcement echoed through the castle and probably even the town as guards rushed out.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Zeddral! Prepare for combat! Do not hold back!" Thaddeus ordered, speaking through his wrist communicator

"Seems you came prepared. I figured. But what are you going to do? You really think a ragtag militia can protect them from an organized army?" Jarred mocked. That bastard is right, though. The Rebellion has focused so much on fighting the army since we arrived. I don't know how they'll do with saving people.

"Then let's get going," Lu answered, her tone more authoritative compared to her typical quiet self, "This guy's your enemy. Handle him while we make sure everything goes smoothly down there."

"Eliza, go with them," Jaune demanded

"What? But I-"

"It's not a matter of if you can help. It's not right for someone to be forced to fight their friend. Have a little faith in your future husband." Eliza looked shocked, and I think I saw a hint of red on her cheeks. Thank you, Jaune. You just gave me a way to get back at her for that botched date. After Allison and Thaddeus got over their shock, we got to work.

"World's Combine, Heroes Unite!"

"rewoP oreH layoR!"

With those phrases, we all shifted into our Hero Forms, the same with Jarred. We split off, and the battle began. Jaune was zipping around with Storm Step, trying to hit him, only for Jarred to block him at every turn. It wasn't easy for him, but it was enough. Any time Ryan tried to get close, he would be hit by Jarred's nun chuck, and he would easily avoid my Styx Whips. It was honestly making me mad. My power came from being relaxed, but right now, I just couldn't. Even if we were stronger together, he had us beat in skill and technique. We couldn't even summon our Heroic Spirits since he would just interrupt us. I needed something that could render that skill gap pointless. As if hearing my angered cries for desperation, something happened. Water began to appear from seemingly nowhere, creating a dome around the four of us. The three of us were okay, but Jarred looked like he was struggling to breathe, "Makoto... What did you do?" Ryan asked, staring at me in shock

"I guess the same thing as your Crimson Mind, I just found the right trigger."

"Wh-What are you...?" Jarred struggled to say between what little breaths he could muster. I guess I didn't have total control, but it was enough.

"You pissed off the Queen of Sea. Now, you'll face the consequences. Let's end this, team!"

"Right!! Undying Heroic Spirit...!!"

Eliza, Age 15

Upon reaching the city, the horror finally began to settle in. Buildings were on fire, and innocent civilians were being slaughtered by the dozens. Without a word, the Heroes got to work. I was at a loss and instinctively followed Mom. Once again, I was impressed by her combative abilities. She easily knocked out the various guards without a second thought, then froze the rest. The other three Heroes would come by occasionally, helping whoever they could with impressive displays of acrobatics and physical strength, but Mom really stood out. Just like at the camp, I would back her up from a distance, doing my best to stay out of her way while still supporting her with healing and small amounts of damage, "Keep it up! You're doing great!" Her praise made me light up with joy as I continued to do just that, pinning guards with ice spikes. The joy ended soon enough, though. Clouds covered the entire capital, lightning striking and reducing the guards we had so carefully restrained to mere ash. Rebel soldiers rushed by in a flash on their barely tamed Qraptors. I was able to make out one face, his eyes glowing red with horns coming from his skull. While he lacked the skin or royal finery, there was no doubt in my mind that the Demon King was here, and he was not happy.

"The King has lured Prince Thaddeus into a trap! Rend! Slaughter! Show no mercy!" He ordered as the ground began to shake. What on earth was this? He showed little care for civilians who were impaled on his spikes of Ice that shot from the quaking earth. Is this all magic? I've never seen it on a scale like this, even in this era! Immediately, I turned to Mom in worry, only to find her. She was impaled through the back, protecting a little girl.

"Mom!!" I called out with tears in my eyes. Not again, please, not again. I quickly sat down, trying to heal her, and I was lucky enough to stop the bleeding and close the wound. However, the spike went all the way through her spine. It'll be a miracle if she ever walks again. I didn't care, though. I was just grateful I could at least save her once

"Good job..." She said weakly as she tried and failed to stand. Without a word, I picked up both her and the girl and hurried to the church, sitting them before the Goddess statue. Such buildings still existed back in my time but were mostly there for the few who still followed the old religion of the Goddess who supposedly gave the Heroes their powers. I didn't believe in such a thing, but maybe some divine intervention would help her. I was about to leave when suddenly I felt a hand latch itself around my wrist, "Wait. Take this..." she insisted before passing me the White Staff. I guess there was no choice. I needed all the help I could get, and a crippled hero wouldn't be much help. With shaking hands, I took it, "You've got this."

I smiled at her encouraging words and said the keyword, "rewoP oreH layoR!". Just like before, I was encased in ice before my suit appeared on me, "With a Calm Royal Mind, Royal Hero White!" I could practically feel Mom's smile warming my back as I hurried out. Zeddral's wrath was indiscriminate and unthinking. If I could snap him out of his rage, maybe we can actually start being productive. At first, the past Heroes focused on search and rescue, but their attention quickly turned toward him. Before I could question why, I received my answer. A small army of blue ethereal beings, fighting off both rebels and guards alike, and all the way in the back, I saw a familiar chitinous suit, "Xandric! You're okay!"

"I didn't think you would worry so much," he half-joked as his men cleared so that he could approach, "White suits you, by the way. Now, where's Father?" I pointed in the direction of the heroes just as Lu got sent flying, only to be caught by a flying demon. To my shock, instead of trying to escape, she used it as a mobile perch point for her rifle, blasting at Zeddral with concentrated lightning, "I suppose that's where they're going then," Xandric assumed, to which I nodded and hurried in the direction of the lightning. While it should have at least stunned him, instead, Zeddral would redirect it at the other heroes.

"Good God, Lu, stop!! Jacob called out, pulling out a heavy weapon that fired a condensed stream of water capable of great cutting power, while Jack recklessly flung himself forward with a flaming sword, only for Zeddral to easily stop both before grabbing Jack's wrist and throwing him through a building.

"Stop fighting me! The King has betrayed us!"

"And what about the innocents?!" Xandric called out, "Do you know how many nearly died just upon my arrival?" Xandric's voice seemed to stun Zeddral, if only for a moment. He turned and shakenly answered him.

"Civilian casualties are natural, Xandric. They can't be avoided..."

"Don't give me that! You didn't even try! You just started letting all your magic cut loose without thinking! You're no different from the monsters you hate!" he shouted back with clear anger, something I wasn't used to hearing from Xandric. While Zeddral was stubbed, a blast of lightning hit him right between the eyes. His head flung back, only to come forward and reveal only a small burn. Zeddral turned to Lu and blasted the demon, destroying it and sending her to the ground. I quickly created an ice slide so she could safely land while she continued to shoot, only for him to dodge with ease. He even avoided Jacob's condensed blast. If not for Xandric's barrier magic, Lu would have been cleaved in two by her own allies. I tried to create walls of ice to trap him, but he easily melted them with blue flames. He even went as far as to heat it up further and turn it to steam. I could barely see, only hearing the loud thuds of bodies hitting the floor. By the time it had faded, everyone except me and Xandric were on the ground, and a hand was around my throat.

"Same as the monsters I hate, huh? These 'innocents' you five want to protect, the ones who are content to just live as sheep to be cattle while my people are drained of all life for cheap labor? They're not innocent. That's why I don't try. It's a harsh truth, one that my future self clearly failed to teach." Xandric and I both struggle in his grip, both unable to break loose. Still, I had an idea. If he didn't care about anyone but 'his people,' the solution was obvious. After doing the formula in my head, I released the trigger word, Rethmor ot em ekat!" The earth beneath us rose up, launching the three of us away from the wounded heroes and back into the church. It didn't take long for his eyes to linger on Mom and the scared child she was holding. He turned to me with shock as he backed away and released us both, "If you're not..."

I turned back before his very eyes, "Exactly. She got hit by one of your carelessly placed spikes. You care so much about 'Your people,' but this woman did nothing but try to help you and free other Demi-Humans. What did she do to deserve this?" My voice was calm but firm. Arguing with someone so heated never worked in my experience with Ryan, so I fought back every urge to scream at him. That seemed to work as he calmed down and touched the communication device on his wrist.

"This is General Zeddral. Forget my order. Focus on search and rescue. Oh, and get the Heroes medical treatment. I may have gone too hard on them." As he gave the order, he seemed pretty dejected as he hopped off the rock and hurried to check on Mom, "Are you okay? I'm so sorry. I thought you'd..." he started, but Mom gently caressed his cheek, only to slap him, "Okay, I deserved that..." He muttered, wincing in pain

"You think?" She asked with a slight pout as she tried and failed to stand. "At least that's one problem handled. Now, what about our Puppet Master?"

Jaune, Age 15

Our 'fight' continued, though calling it such a thing felt a bit extreme. With Jarred's breath hindering all fighting capabilities and being assaulted from all sides by us and our Heroic Spirits, a slaughter would be the more fitting term. I won't pretend that he's somehow undeserving, but it felt wrong to constantly slash and whip him with our weapons while he was unable to fight back. Then, suddenly, something began to overwhelm us. There was a sudden dread as we were launched back by a monstrous roar, "You know what... I've been trying so hard..." Jarred began to mutter, his armor flickering between its normal state and something more akin to the Demon Generals that had been sent at us, "Trying so hard to get you to think...To not throw your lives away a second time. But you fight me every step of the way. So, if you want to die so badly, allow me!!" His appearance finally stabilized a tall, thin mass of flesh in chitin. His arms elongated to almost absurd lengths and bladed at the ends. He looked at himself, clearly surprised, "This is new. I don't know what Ritto did, but if it lets me kill you, then so be it!" he declared, his voice distorted in a similar way to how Xandric was when we first met him, before spinning around like a hurricane. The blades even managed to cut our suits as we were launched back.

"Ow... Been a while since anything's managed to cut me.." Ryan groaned as our Heroic Spirits were destroyed in the attack. We each felt a sudden exhaustion, making it difficult to even stand.

"Indeed. And there goes our trump card on top of that."

"Not yet, we still have a trick up our sleeve, remember?" Ryan asked as he stood up. "Boost Medal Now!" he proudly declared, completely destroying the tension in the room. If Jarred hadn't briefly exhausted himself, we would have been cut down in our confusion.

"Boost Medal?" Makoto repeated, struggling to stand as she looked at him, confused.

"The name for the thing Felmi gave us. Sounds pretty cool, right?"

"We really need to explain these things before throwing them out," The Dragon Goliath said before we quickly had to dodge another attack.

"Just shut up and do it!" Ryan ordered, and we quickly pulled out our newly named Boost Medals and locked them onto our chest.

'BOOST UP!'

"It talks!?" I exclaimed in shock as a feint trail of mana traveled to our Goliaths. The world around us changes. I cannot speak for Ryan or Makoto, but I was standing on a storm cloud when suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck me, and my suit changed. It was still yellow and black like before; however, the armor was covered slightly more. Lightning bolts adorned the grieves and gauntlets. On top of that, my scarf was now gone, replaced with large wings similar to Thundaga's. Just when I thought it was done, a Thunderbird came and chomped at my head, forming the helmet with lightning replacing the wings.

"Thunderbird Reborn: Yellow Mythic Hero!"

"Dragon Reborn: Red Mythic Hero!"

"Mermaid Reborn: Blue Mythic Hero!"

"Heroes Unite!!"

After striking our poses and the explosions going off, I got a look at Ryan and Makoto. They looked relatively similar to me, though Makoto lacked wings, and Ryan's was more like a dragon than a thunderbird. Besides that, the lightning motif was replaced with fangs, fire, and fins, "What? How come you two get wings?"

"No time to question it. We've got ten minutes. Let's wrap this up!" Ryan ordered, and we agreed. I Storm Stepped right past him, and to my shock, I didn't even register where I was until I turned back and saw Jarred behind me, one of his limbs on the ground, only to quickly regenerate. I see. Felmi did say that these medallions would unlock our suit's full power. Ryan rushed in with a flurry of punches and kicks but was bound in Jarred's arms. With ease, though, he managed to break out. Makoto's whips began striking at pressure points. Slowly but surely, we began to wear him down once again, but not without our fair share of cuts. Ryan was caught by his leg and slammed against the walls of the castle many times, and Makoto only narrowly dodged his blades. Still, our results proved promising until a familiar tentacle burst through, creating a wall between us and him.

"You know what? Fine! I hate this abomination, but your little toys are busy, so I'll simply crush you and be done with it!" Jarred's words echoed as he entered the pilot seat of the Kraken Goliath. He swiftly flung his tentacle in the air, causing the roof to come crashing down. The three of us barely dodged the falling debris, but once it was done and the dust finally settled, there stood the Kraken.

"If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears!" Makoto said, staring at the beast with a sense of dread, but Ryan seemed confident, excited even

"You think that was the only Titan we had? It wasn't!"

"It wasn't?!" Makoto and I both exclaimed in unison as our secondary Goliaths came out of hiding and grew to full size. This time, without having to do a single chant due to the increased power, they combined with ease. The Chimera Goliath collapsed inwards from the chest, its goat head forming a joint as the Gorgon Goliath slid right inside as if it were a shirt, forming the head, left arm, and legs. The Hydra Goliath formed the right arm and acted as a canon, while the lion head of the Chimera Goliath formed a helmet.

"Secondary Machine: Mythic Titan!!" Ryan declared as we entered the cockpit, this one with three color-coded orbs instead of three seats

"Ryan... When were you going to tell us about this?" Makoto asked, sounding somewhat annoyed, "I can think of multiple times a second giant robot would be really helpful."

"Um... Well, you see, I had it in my head for a while, but we didn't have enough pi-" Ryan started to explain before we were quickly bound in tentacles.

"Can you love birds please argue about this some other time?!" I begged, and with ease, we busted out and charged at Jarred. His beast roared in pain as it attacked us, but we were able to dodge, and what we couldn't, we could count on snakes to pop out of the back to catch. Before we knew it, we were in its face and throwing it into the sky.

"Finishing Move: Moon Buster Canon!!" Ryan boldly declared and held the Hydra arm up to it and blasted a massive beam that sent us back as it destroyed the Kraken Goliath

After the battle, we rendezvoused with the others. What should have felt like a victory was quite...underwhelming. Bodies lined the streets, and we were too busy fighting the bad guys to stop it. Still, in spite of that, Thaddeus, Zeddral, and even Leon approached, along with their arms, and bowed, "Why are you bowing? Look around you? Do you not see the dead?"

"They do," a voice answered as Xandric and Eliza approached, "But it is hopefully the last of the death they will see, and that's thanks to you three. Even if your target wasn't the kind." He chuckled nervously as he looked at a pile of rubble, the king's hand barely coming out. With that, they saw us out. It was nice to feel the gratitude, but I could feel something weighing on me, and I remembered Sonya's words.

'Heavy is the head that bears the crown.'

When I'm King, am I bound to feel this every time? Even when I win, will it still feel like a loss?

A Few Days Later, Ryan, Age 15

I watched the party from a distance. The Rebels seemed quite happy to have finally won. I didn't have the same attachment to this war. It was just a side quest so we could get back home. Dwarves, Humans, and Demi-Humans all danced, and I just realized... We finished the war before the Elves or Vampires could ever get involved. I wonder what this world would be like now if they didn't get in on it. As I thought to myself, Jack approached, "You know, it's pretty rude for one of the guests of honor to watch the party from afar."

"Guest of honor? More like a guy who shouldn't be back here."

"True, but you're here, and you helped a bunch," He answered with little more than a warm smile, "The portal's just about to open. Your friends have already said their goodbyes, so I thought I would say mine."

"Any sign of Jarred?"

"No, and after that blast, I doubt we ever will."

"Well, with those words, you just ensured that he ejected at the last second or something." A laugh erupted from us both as I finished my last sip of ale before making my way to my team

"It's about time you showed up. We were just talking about that second Titan you pulled out of nowhere," Xandric teased.

"Says the guy with a literal army of souls. I swear, this place was just power-up central for us."

"And even then, it was barely enough to stop one Hell Hero," Makoto noted, her voice dead serious. I nod but pull her in close, making her face go bright red.

"Yeah, so we'll just have to keep getting stronger. Together"

"H-Hey! Don't get so mushy!"

Jaune could only chuckle in response, "Seems our Untrusting Hero is beginning to let us in a little." As he teased me, the Demi-Humans gathered in a circle, pouring the remaining Spirit Magic needed into the portal. It shined a bright blue, and with a soft smile and nod, the five of us stepped through and back to our time. We saved one world timeline. Now, we need to get back to saving our own.

2026, Hailey, Age 18

I was walking back home for the night with Eric. This was more of a casual hangout than any real intel gathering. I just found some cool stuff in Ryan's collection and thought I'd share it, "I honestly never gave this manga stuff a shot before, but it's really good! I'm sorta mad Ryan kept it from me!"

"I know the feeling," Eric responded with a chuckle, "He was a good guy, but he always stayed so closed off."

"Yeah..." I muttered, the mood turning sour. Everything sorta blurred for a moment. I looked around and saw... Ancient China? No, the people had long, pointed ears. Where was I? As I looked around, I heard a voice and the honking of a horn.

'Hailey...'

'Hailey!!'

When I snapped back, I saw Eric reaching out to me in the middle of the road. I barely had time to think as a car sped towards me, but...it all felt so slow. I didn't have much time and with my last moment, I pushed Eric away before...

CRASH!!!