The Untrusting Hero From Another World

Nine Months Since Summoning Day, Hailey, Age 18

We watched as the army hurried out of the city walls. It made it way too easy to sneak into the castle. All the Demons hid in their homes, scared of such a massive mobilization of forces. As such, we could wander through the halls relatively aimlessly. However, I could feel a distinct tension. It was like walking into a pride of sleeping lions. You know the threat is there, but the real danger is not knowing when they'll wake up and take action.

"We'll go find Leon's armor, then meet with you to deal with Ritto," Sonya explained, pulling out the scrap that contained Leon's life. It was so pathetic, seeing the guy who nearly killed me like this. Still, we could use all the help we could get, especially since the old man is useless. With a nod, Dante and I watch her run off. We would make our way through the winding halls of the dark castle, eventually coming across a lab of some sort. A lone figure stood there, observing as more and more Shadows were produced. Slowly we crept inside, hoping to sneak up on him. I turned to Dante, signaling him.

Three...

Two...

One!

We each tackle the figure from both sides, trying to pincer him. Instead, we phased right through, crashing through the window into the test site below. Our target stood there, grinning as the illusion we attacked faded. We missed the real Ritto, "You really thought I didn't know you were here? Foolishness. Until the King returns, I see everything," he mocked, and with a snap of his fingers, the Shadows around us began to expand before exploding in a chain reaction.

Meanwhile, Ryan, Age 15

"Look, kid, we don't have much time, so I'll give you one chance. Back off and I won't kill you," Riley insists, nonchalantly throwing his hammer over his shoulders. I stood up, ready to attack at any moment. With the Power of the Dark Dragon Warrior, he shouldn't be too bad. "Actually, better yet, my offer still stands. You can join us. Come on, you don't wanna leave, do you?"

"Of course I don't. But still, you think I'll just betray my friends?"

"Friends? You can make new ones. You already have that kid, right? Why are two folks from our dump of a world worth giving up this one? You can stay here, be a hero, leave everything that held you down back home behind," he insisted, offering his hand, "You can be happy."

"Everything that held me back, huh?" I repeated, slowly approaching before taking his hand. Just as he began to shake, I began to tighten my grip, slowly sending him to his knees, "Sounds like you're projecting a bit, bud. Nothing was holding me back but me!" I then sent him flying back with a massive fist made from the Dark Dragon Armor. He grunted as he got up, panting heavily. I could feel his Draconic Presence trying to push me down, but I countered with my own. Still, neither of us seemed slowed down. No, he would have blitzed me in a nanosecond if I didn't use it. But thanks to Draconic Presence, in this moment, me and him are equals. Without hesitation, I rush at him, sending him into the sky. If I wanted to go all out, I needed him away from people. I would ping pong him across the sky, speeding behind him to send him flying once again. This would continue on for a while, until eventually he caught my first. I could feel a burning sensation. It was like it was melting through my suit. No, even worse, it was turning my fist into a mini furnace, burning what's inside. I roared out in pain before he threw me to the ground. Without me to keep him in the air, he began to descend.

"xineohP emalF!" He called out, a Phoenix forming behind him. The monster then spewed fire from its mouth. What the heck?! A Phoenix can't do that! I quickly cast a spell of my own

"suoiruF gninruB nuS!" A miniature sun not only countered the blast of fire, but easily overpowered it, hitting Riley dead on. He crashed to the ground, but I knew this wasn't done. If he were that weak, Draconic Presence would have worked on him. He panted heavily as he stood up. Despite his helmet, I could practically feel his grin.

"Thanks for that... My entire body feels like it's about to drop dead. Just what I needed..." His body slowly contorted, his chitinous armor melding with his skin, the mouthguard of the helmet splits, becoming more bug-like. His maul merged with one hand while the other became a flame thrower, and he grew at least five times his original size, like he was a massive fire ant, "Alright! Let's keep going!"

Makoto, Age 15

Dodging the nunchuck was surprisingly easy, even if it was about to strike me, my Styx Whips could snatch me out of the way in less than a second. "You should've taken my offer the first time! Look at the mess you've caused!" He berated, sending ice spikes to run me through; however, I easily evaded them

"Oh, don't even start with that! You can't seriously expect me to work with you after what you did to me! Do you know how it feels to have your autonomy stolen from you? To be forcefully rendered helpless? Do you?!" I shouted in rage, creating a Suijin Dome to contain him as well as give me the advantage. He struggled to breathe, allowing me to beat on him. Jarred is easily the weakest of the three. If I don't play around too much, I should be able to beat him. At least that's what I thought, until he easily broke out. My eyes widened as I instinctively jumped back. His arm had transformed, looking more like his monster form.

"What? You thought you were the only one getting stronger?" He mocked, swinging his tendril-like arm at me. I could barely dodge it, but I managed to get by with just a grazing on my shoulder before he rushed to me.

"Undying Heroic Spirit!" I quickly called out, letting the Ocean Hero kick him dead in the face. It stunned him enough for me to strike a few pressure points that I could see with my Mer Eyes. He collapsed to the ground, and for good measure, I bound him with my Styx Whips. I let out a sigh of relief, only for it to be cut off by laughter.

"Did you forget about this!? I'm not done!" He boldly declared, his body turning once again, just like it did during our battle in the past

Jaune, Age 15

Cass charged at me with complete tunnel vision. She didn't even acknowledge Eliza's spells, instead just trying to run me through. Any time I tried to Storm Step away, she would simply catch up with her own. Any slash I made would only further build up her strength, so I needed to take her down in one hit, "Quit running already!!" she shouted before a massive gust of wind sent her flying back.

"Enough! What's going on, Cass? First, you help us, now you want to kill us? Are you just trying to hurt me?!" Eliza called out, demanding answers. She kept her staff ready, just in case.

"Hurt you? idiot, I'm keeping you safe!"

"Safe? Safe from what?!" She demanded to know, and as if it were timed, the clouds began to darken. Stray lightning nearly struck us multiple times as tornadoes began to spawn from seemingly nowhere. Eliza seemed shocked, shaking as I held her close to help dodge the stray bolts, "No... Why is he here?!"

"He thinks his kid's dead and he wants to end it right now..." Cass answered, her tone completely emotionless. Eliza immediately broke from me and hurried to the castle. I threw out Naga and Thundaga, letting them fight the Giant Shadows while she ran. Cass tried to stop her, but it only took one loud word to get her away.

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"ENOUGH!!"

Cass was shot through several buildings, allowing me and Eliza to exchange one final nod before she ran towards her home. Cass Storm Stepped back to me, throwing a punch that broke the armor of the arm that was blocking it, "Why would you do that?! You just got her killed!" she raged, continuing her assault of strengthened blows that I couldn't deflect. She then aimed straight for my head, shattering my visor before hooking her hand behind my head and slamming me to the ground.

"If it were my mother... Heaven and Earth wouldn't stop me from reaching her...If you really loved her... You'd get that..." I struggled to say before Storm Stepping out of her gasp and into the sky, "tsepmeT gninthgiL!" I exclaimed, calling forth a storm of continuous lightning. It covered the darkened sky for several meters before being shot onto a certain point, essentially using Cass as a lightning rod. She cried out in pain as the lightning burned her alive. She may absorb kinetic energy, but she still feels it, and with my enhanced mind, I could actually pull off something this large. When the storm finally ended, she looked practically charred. Yet despite this, she still stood up, changing into her monster form.

"I'm not done yet... Now get out of my way!!"

Hailey, Age 18

I gasp for air, struggling to get up. Despite the equivalent of fifty blasts of C4 going off in our faces, we could still stand and fight, only slightly worse for wear. All the while, Ritto watched from above, "Impressive. I didn't expect it to kill you, but I thought you would be a little worse off."

"If you want to see worse, how about you come down and fight us, brat!" Dante called out, glaring daggers at the mage. In response, he merely stroked his chin, pretending to think.

"Hmmmm, no, I don't think I will. But if it's a fight you want, let me introduce you to the final Warlord!" Suddenly, as if on command, a massive, dragon-like monster burst through the walls, "Meet Fume!"

"Let's get this over with. I want to go back to sleep..." The dragon lazily replied, swinging her tail, which I managed to slide under while Dante rode it up to where he could leap at Ritto, throwing him into the fray with us

"I'll handle the overgrown lizard if you can take out Ritto," I offered, pushed back to back with Dante as I pulled out my Drago Blaster.

"Got it. Try not to get eaten while I do all the heavy lifting," he joked, and with that, we split off. Dante tackled Ritto through a wall while I fired shots at Fume, dragging her away. Even with my strength, I don't think I can make it. I need a bigger gun, but I also need to keep it away from Dante. Rushing through the hole Fume created, my blasts prompting it to chase after me. I would control the wind to make sure to hit weak points in her scaled armor. I don't know how to use it very well, but I can at least control where my shots go. I also made sure to punch through every column as I scurried around. The violent stomping of the enemy wasn't far behind, and flames scorched my back. Just when I thought it was over and my back was against a wall, she came to a stop.

"Are you done now? Can you please just give up already? I'm tired."

"Yeah? Well, how about you take a nap?" I taunted as I heard the cracking of the stone beneath us. Soon enough, it crumbled, sending both of us plummeting below. I'm sure she can fly, but the constant rubble smashing into her skull kept her from doing so. As she fell, I dove onto her exposed stomach and began beating on it, cracking the underbelly. Of course, that wasn't enough, but once I find my bigger gun, I could strike that weakness. With that done, I jumped off and fired a bullet, using my magic to make a small tornado that softened my landing. The rubble covered Fume, and I was left in what looked like some kind of hangar. There were four landing spots, but only one was filled, a Dragon in a similar style to the ones in Dai Shi architecture. It wasn't painted or anything, and it was the perfect thing I needed. Without a second thought, I scaled the ladder and took control. The inside was a lot more fleshy than I'd like. The controls were attached to the nerves along with various other machines. Still, now's not the time to be picky. Swallowing my disgust, I take the pilot seat just in time for Fume to stand back up.

Dante, Age 20

The dark room was lit by fire and lightning. I weaved around every single one thanks to my suit's night vision, but the heat was cooking me even through the built-in air conditioning. Ritto's magic is strong, but it only takes one strike for me to take him down. I pounce at him, but go right through, and suddenly I feel something being stabbed into my back. I didn't even spark or anything, blood ran down the earthen spikes as the real RItto came out, "Ah, Dante, as foolish as ever. You know, I read up on your team. They seemed quite impressive. It's a shame they all died."

"Don't play dumb... You killed them..." I struggled to say as I felt the blood swell up, desperate to leave my body through my mouth

"Ha! Of course, I did. At least you were that intelligent. Shame you weren't clever enough to get what's going on. All that power, and no brains to back it up. My Heroes are so much better," he mocked, and that's when it dawned on me. Ritto was going to have Zeddral go to the battlefield. He's more than capable of wiping out the entire island, so why the massive invasion force? There would be no need, unless....

"Oh no..." I mutter before mustering my strength to shatter the spikes in my back and rush out. Ritto tried his best to strike me, but I evaded every blast, even the Shadows that he hardened into weapons just to kill me, following the trail of destruction. There was a massive hole in the hangar, and outside I saw Fume fighting a massive mechanical dragon. I'm losing blood fast. Even if I could get that high, I'd just be dead weight. So with my remaining Mana, I enhance my vocal cords and call out "HAILEY!! GO NOW!!"

The mechanical dragon threw Fume aside and turned to me, "Dante?! What happened?" her voice called out in shock, likely through some sort of microphone.

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME! I'LL HANDLE THINGS HERE! GET TO YOUR BROTHER!" I scream out before being hit in the back with a bolt of lightning. The Goliath tries to fly to me. This isn't good. I need to appeal to the one thing that may get her to leave, "YOUR BROTHER IS IN DANGER!! HE'LL DIE IF YOU DON'T HURRY!"

Despite her hesitation, Fume's sudden attack from behind had to make her loop around and fly in the opposite direction. My body goes numb, and my eyes grow heavy as I collapse to my knees. Even if I die here, hopefully she can stop this. I close my eyes without regret, ignoring the final words I hear.

"Do not think I will let you die. That is too lax a punishment for you."

Thaddeus, Age 1129

"So, this is how we end this?" I ask, turning to my friend. Despite us both wanting this to end, neither of us wished for it like this. Through his tears, I saw nothing. An expression as dead as the millions he's responsible for killing. It was cold, not even feral. It was like looking the Deliverer of Souls himself in the eye.

"Indeed. I am sorry, but this war has cost me too much. Prepare yourself, King Thaddeus," He says, the wind picking up around him. I don't know what caused this, but once Zeddral gives in to his bloodlust, there is no logic that will break him out.

"Very well. Prepare yourself, King Zeddral," I address him not as a friend, but as a fellow King, as I summon a barrage of swords. A King's duty is to protect his people. As such, I'm both its sword and shield. I haven't had to use this in many years, but against Zeddral, I have no choice. I fired my blades like rockets, only for them to be countered by bolts of lightning. Some would get past my weapons but were blocked by my shields. This would continue for some time with neither gaining the upper hand. One of us had to be bold enough to make the step forward. As the exchange of barrages went on, I took one of the many blades and rushed at him with enhanced speed. He was visibly shocked, barely able to block my strike with an ice wall before sending me flying with a gust of wind out of the castle towards the city square. I skipped across the shields I had summoned to break my fall as if I were a rock in a lake before finally regaining my footing, looking up at Zeddral with resistance in my eyes. He attempted to unleash a stream of fire at me, but I created a shield directly in front of him, blasting him with his own magic before firing a warhammer directly at his head. Positioning myself with more shields, I spawned more around him, effectively making a dome in which there was only one way out, up straight into my blade. I repositioned myself over him and pushed myself down, intent on piercing his skull, when suddenly all the shields were destroyed and I was once again launched. The tornado began splitting repeatedly, and magma spewed from cracks in the earth

"I'm ending this right now. Make your choice, King of Humans!" He demanded as the disasters piled up. Earthquakes, spikes of ice, pillars of flame, geysers of magma, tornadoes. The disasters were unending. I knew what he wanted. I could survive this with my shields, but my people would be wiped out. So, I made the choice of the king. As Zeddral rushed at me, his arm extended to grab my heart, I muttered my final spell.

"tcetorP eht elpoeP..." My shields dispersed, each covering one of the millions in the Kingdom who would be subjected to Zeddral's wrath, not only in Eltaria, but the surrounding villages and even other nations. Without my defenses, I was unable to protect myself from the hand that dug into my chest, "A-Are you...satisfied...?" I asked, seeing the disasters slowly dying down. The magma cooled, the tornados dispersed, and as Zeddral gently lowered our feet to the ground, the earth had stopped shaking.

"Hardly, you selfless fool..." he muttered, his dead facade cracking for the first time before he ripped his hand from my chest, holding something as he did. I fell to the ground, and the last thing my heavy eyes saw was my daughter's tear-stained face.

"I see... Forgive me..."