The Untrusting Hero From Another World

2015, Ryan, Age 6

I still remember it like it was yesterday. How could I forget? I sat in the house, already being cleaned up as police tried to investigate. I just sat in front of the TV, watching some show from Japan about kids fighting monsters. It gave me some semblance of escape. The cops mostly left me alone, but I could hear their whispers.

"Did you hear the kid's testimony?"

"Yeah. The poor little guy seems convinced it was some sort of monster. Almost too descriptive to be fake."

"Really? It's obvious, the dad did it. I mean, he didn't show up to work, and the place was locked up tighter than a nun. He's the only one who could've gotten in from the outside."

It hurt hearing them accuse him like that, but I was sure they'd find the monster. After all, cops are supposed to help people, right? Such a nice little lie that was quickly shattered when I heard the sound of a car. It's sad; I can barely remember Dad's face. I remember the distress in his tone as he called out to me, only to be immediately put in handcuffs. "What the hell…? What's going on?! Where's my son?!"

"He's safe over there, sir. Now you're under arrest. Please be quiet until we get outside. The less he sees, the better." One of the officers pleaded, a man much younger than my dad with emerald green eyes. He may have acted kind, but he's a cop. Even though he didn't know it, I was already listening and had snuck into the kitchen. When I came back, I held up the knife and demanded them to

"Let him go!! He didn't do it!! I saw it all!!"

The police began to panic as they began to take my dad out of the house. They tried to grab me, but I ducked under and around them before charging at the cop, stabbing him in the stomach. I felt the blood on my hands, but I was in too much of a rage to notice. Finally, they grabbed me and managed to pin me down.

I don't even remember where they kept me. I cried until I passed out, and when I woke up, I was in some place with other kids. I stayed there for days and nights without ever hearing from anyone until one day, a lady came along and dragged me to the exit. I fought her all the way. When we stopped, I froze as I saw the emerald-eyed man standing outside his police car and holding out his hand. "Hello, Ryan. My name's Alex. As of today, I'll be taking care of you."

2025, Age 15

I groan as I wake up in bed, bumping my head on the roof when I sit up. God, I hate being on the top bunk. I have that same memory replaying in my head damn near every night, and it never improves my mood. It seems like Hailey had already gotten up for work. Since Alex only had two rooms, she and I had to share one. We divided it in half. Everything on the bottom except the TV and games attached was hers, and everything on top, through the power of child ingenuity, cupboards, and nails, was mine. Privacy was an issue at first, but we made it work. After getting dressed in my usual outfit, a red shirt, torn-up pants, and a leather jacket, I went downstairs, where a plate was already waiting for Alex and me to eat at the table. "Morning, Ryan. Ready for school?"

I didn't answer and just sat down to eat. I made no secret that I hated him. He and his cop friends took away my dad. Why would I want anything to do with him? He'd continue to try and start a conversation, asking if I was doing well in school despite already knowing I was or if I was ever going to dye my hair back from red to black. It took about five minutes for him to give up. When I eventually left, I decided to stop by Kool Place, which is pretty much a shop nearby for all my needs. It turns out that show I was watching was part of a larger genre in Japan called Tokusatsu, and sometimes American companies would loosely adapt it into their own thing. It helped me escape from this world that I hated so much and sent me down a rabbit hole of anime and manga. I'd stop by this place almost every day before school. Which made it easy for...

"Yo, Ryan!"

...for this punk to find me. I turned around, and sure enough, like something out of an eighties sitcom, I saw Eric's greasy, slicked-back hair with his buddies behind him. He's been a bully since middle school, but the only person he could never really hurt was me. It also didn't help that I was constantly butting into his bullying. What can I say? I can't just stand by and watch people get hurt anymore. I guess that made me a target. To think people thought we were actually friends because I dressed like one of his guys. "What? Here for another beating? Let's take it outside. I'd hate to mess this place up again."

"How noble. Shame we don't feel the—!" He started to prepare a punch, but I sidestepped and kicked the back of his knees, sending him to the ground. I then tossed him at his boys, who all fell like bowling pins. I left with them cursing me the whole way; nothing new. School was uneventful, too. I just sat in the back, answered a question or two, and rinsed and repeated until the day ended. It was pretty normal, which begs the question, why did it get so weird so fast? While walking back, I hear screaming in an alley. I don't know if it's because I was cocky from my constant fights or what, but I hurried to investigate. That's where I saw a man robbing a woman and her child, a little boy no older than 6. I tried to approach slowly but gave myself away when I kicked a can. The man quickly turned to me. "What do you want, kid? Got a problem?"

"Not exactly. But hey, someone's got to do it, and God knows the cops won't," I answered bluntly, keeping my eyes on his knife. I guess my answer was enough reason for him to attack me. He went for a flurry of stabs and slashes, which I dodged with only a few cuts on my shirt. Once he tired himself out, I grabbed his wrist and quickly broke his arm, making him drop his knife. That was my second mistake. I thought he was done, so I hurried to check on the woman and her son. "You guys okay? Run straight home, got it?" I asked, and they nodded, probably too scared to reply. I let out a sigh of relief, which turned into a gasp of pain as I fell to my knees. Looking down, I saw the knife in my leg before the punk pulled it out with his one remaining hand before stabbing me in the gut.

"Should've stayed clear, kid. Hopefully, you at least have something worth pawning off…" were his final words before my eyes started to close. I thought I was going to die.

"So why the heck am I alive?!" I shouted as I grabbed one of the robed men by the collar. When I woke up, I was in this stone chamber surrounded by folks in white and red robes. They had asked me to try and recollect everything from before I appeared.

"Pl-Please, young man. You're among friends... If you would just follow us…" He insisted, and I slowly put him down. This is a weird situation, and I don't fully trust him, but what choice do I have? Sure enough, he led me through the building. It looked archaic, with stone walls, stained glass windows, and torches with...blue flames. Yeah, that's not impossible, but it's definitely not easy to make. Eventually, we stopped in a massive throne room. Men in golden armor with white scarves and winged helmets with a black visor over their eyes lined the left and right sides, and on the throne was who I could only assume was meant to be their 'king.' The only normal-looking folks were a chick with short dark hair in what looked like a black and red school uniform out of an anime and a blonde dude with a ponytail in a puffy white shirt and black pants. "So, how did you guys end up in this crazy LARPing session?" I asked, but the girl answered in Japanese and the guy in French. The robed man looked like a lightbulb went off over his head and grabbed my wrist, placing some weird golden bracelet with a red stone in the middle.

"Can you understand us now?" The girl asked. She still had a bit of an accent but distinctly spoke English.

"Yeah... But how? You were just speaking Japanese a second ago."

"I must admit, I don't quite understand myself. For now, it may be best to accept things as they are until we know more." The blonde responded with the most non-answer I've ever heard before looking to the king: "You said we were awaiting the third, correct? Can you tell us what's going on now? Because this is not how I imagined Heaven."

The king grumbled, seeming somewhat displeased. I could have sworn I heard him say something like "Children again…" before looking directly at us, "Forgive my disdain. I simply do not like relying on those with such life left in them to solve our problems," he explained, standing up. As he did so, all the guards began to kneel along with the man who led me to him. Pretty standard behavior for royalty. It was when the king himself kneeled before us that my eyes shot wide. "I apologize for summoning you, but we need your help. Please, hear me out, heroes."

"Heroes?" I muttered under my breath and immediately tried to leave. I had seen too many anime start like this, and it never ends well, but immediately, the boy stopped me by standing in front of the door. "You've got five seconds to move out of my way before I bust that face of yours, pretty boy."

"My name is Jaune. I would appreciate it if you referred to me as such. I would also like for you to stay and listen to what he has to say."

"I don't care what he has to say. I know where this is going, and I want nothing to do with it."

"And what choice do you have? We don't know what's going on or what will happen if we decline. It's better to go along for now, and then you can stomp and pout like a child." The girl spoke up with a stern glare that I met with one of my own. Still, I hate to admit it, but she's right, so I calm down and just nod my head. Her glare turned into a smile as she turned to the king, who rose to his feet.

"Very well, follow me," he said softly, leading us through the castle. Through some of the windows that weren't stained like the ones we went past before, I could see a vast city. Given what I was expecting from the small instances of magic, like the bracelets and me being summoned, I didn't expect to see an almost medieval town contrasted with holographic advertisements, blimps, and even more semi-modern devices. Even as we left the throne room, I began to notice what looked like cameras. "Oh yes, I don't believe I've introduced myself. I am Thaddeus, King of Zordonia and head of the United Nations of Light."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Makoto Fujisaki." The girl said before looking at me, expecting me to introduce myself, to which I answered

"Ryan. Now, what's with all the tech? Everything around here besides that looks pretty standard for a fantasy world."

"We believe in the power of knowledge, regardless of form." A feminine voice said behind me, nearly making me jump out of my skin as I turned to face the girl. Her gold eyes dug into me as she fixed her brown ponytail. She wore a fancy white dress, instantly giving me the idea she was somehow related to the king. My shock almost seemed to disgust her as she rolled her eyes, "I've been here the whole time, and you just now noticed. Are you sure the spell worked, Father?"

"The spell summons those about to die protecting others. That does not assure their skill immediately." The king answered, but that didn't seem to satisfy her. Regardless, we were taken into a chamber with a magic circle with five different spots. "Before you agree, I believe you should know what aid we need."

"You think?"

The king glared at my comment but let it go and took a deep breath. "You see, our kingdom used to be quite peaceful. With the great strides made in both fields of science and magic, we eradicated poverty, crime, and hunger. It is the closest one can see to a Utopia... until the demons attacked."

"They come from the Dark Island across the sea," the girl in white added. They appear whenever they please and attack. Humans, dwarves, vampires—it doesn't matter. They just kill and destroy, usually sending a powerful general with an army of shadowy monsters."

"Shadowy monsters?" I asked, my eyes suddenly shooting a little wide. My next question was obvious: "Have you or demons ever come to our world? Something like a reverse summoning?"

"It's not impossible. But we do not know the schemes of the demons. Thaddeus answered.

"Well, you should've started with that," I scoffed, stepping forward. "Let me be clear. I don't trust you. There's no way this place is as perfect as it seems, but if those things are what I think they are, I'll wipe out as many as I can."

"He's driven. Better than the last one," the girl noted.

"Last one?" Jaune asked, his question making the king hang his head in shame.

"The last group of heroes were children as well, roughly the same age as you three. But they vanished, and we could never find them until they returned, leading the shadow beasts. He explained, hanging his head in shame. I wasn't surprised in the least, but Jaune and Makoto looked to be in disbelief. "It's why I was so dismayed to see more children. Are there no adults in your world selfless enough to protect others?"

Jaune seemed particularly upset by that statement before answering, "Sadly, selflessness does not get one ahead in our world. Now I'll help. What about you, Makoto?"

"Is that even a question?" she asked. Thaddeus nodded and motioned all of us into certain positions on the magic circle. The spots were already made for us, each one their own circle with drawings of what looked like a dragon, a thunderstorm, and a mermaid, respectively. After that, the girl in white began chanting.

"Oh merciful gods and goddesses who birthed this land and its people, grant these brave souls your power to protect the life you've made," she would repeat this over and over; each time, the circles would glow brighter. Not just that, the colored gems in our bracelets would glow, too. In a blinding flash of light, I felt something change. Feeling a surge of power, I almost instinctively did a backflip, leaving a crater where I landed. My clothes began to change into something similar to the guards we saw: a black bodysuit covering everything up to my neck with a bright red chest piece, white bracers, grieves, and a scarf. Lastly, a red-winged helmet with a visor that covered my eyes appeared.

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"With the Passion of a Dragon: Hero Red!"

"With the Power of a Storm: Hero Yellow!"

"With the Grace of a Mermaid: Hero Blue!"

"Heroes Unite!! " the three of us said in unison and posed as colored smoke appeared behind us. It was strange, to say the least, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't fun.

"What was that? All of that just felt so natural?" Jaune asked, looking down at his new yellow suit before looking at Makoto and me, "That speech, those poses. Have you two ever done that before?" he asked, to which we simply shrugged.

"It's just part of the ritual," the girl answered as we turned back to our usual selves. "There. Now you need to push in the gem on your bracelets, and you can transform at any time, assuming you don't die or run away like the last one."

"Eliza, that's enough!" Thaddeus said sternly, forcing her into silence. He then rubbed his eyes as if exhausted and looked at us, "Forgive my daughter. She was close to the past heroes. I'm sure it's hard on her."

"Oh, it's quite alright. We just need to try harder, then. Nobody wishes to upset royalty," Jaune said with a slight bow, making me roll my eyes. If only he knew how much I wanted to tick off anyone with any 'authority' over me. He quickly moved on and asked, "Now, if I may ask, where shall we be staying? After all, we are strangers to this world, and we have no money."

"You will stay in the castle," he assured with a welcoming smile. Sure enough, the servants lead us all to our room. While we did have to share it, the place was massive. It was practically a whole house, complete with a kitchen, living room, and bathroom, so I couldn't complain. After everyone got settled and prepared for bed, I hopped out of mine and began to sneak out. The moment I opened the door, though, sure enough, there was Eliza in her nightgown as white as the dress she was wearing. I swear, does she ever wear anything other than white? Change it up a little.

"And where are you going?"

"Out," I answered, snaking past her in what little space she afforded me between her and the door.

"If you need anything, I'm sure you can find it in the castle."

"Can't find out about the world," I bit back. "I'm sure everything looks like sunshine and rainbows when you're looking down from above. But when you're on the streets at night, that's when you see the world for what it is. Then again, what would you know about that?"

"What's that supposed to m-Mpph!" She started to yell, but I quickly covered her mouth. I didn't want to wake the other two. Without another word, I let her go and continued to creep past the guards and into the town. When I made it down, it was...surprisingly lively. Back home, folks were terrified to leave their homes at night, scared of any number of things that could happen. Yeah, you'd have a few who didn't mind, but not this many. These people are shopping, talking, and drinking without a care in the world. Still, there had to be something wrong. Slavery, racism, heck, just a mugging problem, SOMETHING! There's no such thing as a perfect world. But no matter how hard I looked, everything seemed fine. The different races, all of which I could identify mostly due to the fantasy manga I read back home, seemed to get along just fine, and nobody acted above the other. Not a single crime or merchant trying to exploit needy customers. It was something that could only be described as fantasy, never something that could exist for real. I was just about to find an inn to sleep at when I felt something bump into my leg.

"O-Oh...Sorry, Mister…" A raspy voice said. Looking down, I saw a little elven boy, pointy ears and all. He had scars all over his arms and legs, but that paled to what I imagined was under the eyepatch.

"Hey, don't worry about it, kiddo. What are you doing out this late?" I ask, kneeling down beside him. Even back in my world, I had a hard time being harsh to kids. So even if he did nearly knock me over, I couldn't tell him that.

"Y-Yeah, sorry! I'm visiting my parents!"

"Got you. Well, I was about to turn in for the night. How about I walk with you?" I offered and stood up. The kid just nodded before continuing to run along. He was surprisingly quick; I struggled to keep up. As I was nearing my limit, though, he slowed down in a graveyard just barely outside the walls. I don't like where this is going. We stopped right in front of a large stone monument with names written on it, yet for some reason, it still didn't register for me, "So...are your parents meeting you here?"

"They're already here..." he answered, hiding his face in his long blonde hair to avoid showing tears. "They died in the most recent invasion... There wouldn't be enough time for a proper funeral, so they just buried them with everyone else and built this on top."

"I see...Must be rough," were my only words as I looked at him. "I lost my parents too. Mom was killed by some monster, and the cops arrested my dad for it. I tried to tell them, but nobody would believe a little kid in my world screaming about monsters.

"In your world? Are you one of the heroes?" he asked, his eye suddenly lighting up. I was shocked, though. If there were heroes before us, of course they'd know, but going as far as to know we're from another world? I manage to get over my shock and nod, making him jump for joy. "Wow! King Thaddeus did say he'd be summoning new heroes soon, but I didn't think I'd get to meet one!!"

"Yeah. Hey, stupid question, but how much do you know about the heroes?"

"Not much more than everyone else. The heroes are those who sacrificed their lives in another world to save others. They're giving high-tech bracelets imbued with the strongest magic," he explained. "Our world is mostly peaceful. There haven't been any major wars on our island for thousands of years. As such, all of our strife tends to come from outside forces. My parents told me that they had never seen heroes. They left the planet to fight an army of pirates, and my grandparents still remember the invaders from Aquatas."

"No major wars on your island, huh? And the king says crime and hunger are basically nonexistent."

"When you take away desperation, crime goes down greatly."

"Yeah? Wish it were that simple in my world," I said, starting to sulk. Though I did try to cheer up as I put the kid on my back, "It's getting late. Let's take you home, um..."

"Kai," he answered, as if knowing what my next question would be, and as if seeing my confusion as to why his name sounded so out of place, he sighed and gave more context: "My parents were from a nation called Dai Shi. Don't worry. You won't hear names like mine often."

"Noted. Well, Kai, I'm Ryan. When you're free, how about we talk more? I'd rather learn from the average Joe than some king. I offered, and he nodded like a bobblehead before directing me to where he stayed. We stopped outside a place with a sign saying 'Emalia Orphanage,' but it didn't look like the orphanage I went to. It was very well maintained. Children played both inside and out, ate until their little bellies were full, and were taught both academics and practical skills by the caretakers. It was hard to believe, but it seemed perfect...well, as perfect as a place for kids with no parents could be. I laid Kai down in his bed, and I returned to the castle with no resistance. Then, I went to sleep for the night.

The next morning, though, any illusion of peace was quickly shattered as the sound of marching could be heard throughout the castle. Makoto was the first to shake me and Jaune awake. "Come on, get up! Something's going on."

"Five more minutes, please..." Jaune requested with a yawn, only to have his sheets snatched right off by...it. That thing from the night Mom died, a shadowy creature made of nothing but darkness save for its crimson eyes. It tries to pounce on Jaune again, who barely rolls out of bed in time, resulting in it flying into Makoto's kick that tears it in half, only for it to reform immediately. It slammed Makoto into the ground before tackling me. It looked like I was about to die again...

"Ezeerf!" I heard someone exclaim, and a mist came through that froze the beast solid, giving me a chance to smash it. Looking behind me, I see Eliza standing there with a disapproving look. "Shadows are beings made of pure magic. Why would you just fight them?"

"What else should I have done?" I asked and quickly got dressed before climbing into the window.

"Where are you going?" Makoto asked,

"Down to help. Even if I can't fight, I can help evacuate."

"Are you crazy?! We need to get you out of here! If you die, then—!"

"Then you'll just have to replace me," I interrupted Eliza before hopping out of the window. To my shock, I saw two people follow behind me. "Hey, I didn't say you have to tag along, you know!"

"True, but we won't let you die just because you're a stubborn fool," Jaune insisted, and, refusing to waste time arguing, we hurried into the city. "Do you have any sort of plan?"

"Don't fight unless you have to, and focus on evacuations. I'm going to run east."

"Then leave south and west to Jaune and me," Makoto suggested, and with a nod between the three of us, we split off. I didn't just choose East at random. Relative to the city square, that's where the orphanage was. Kids have so much life in them. I won't let that be snuffed out by some monsters. I ducked and dodged past the explosions and falling debris, punching through every Shadow on my way. I could still destroy them, even if they would recover damn near instantly. When I got there, it seemed largely intact, save for the massive hole in the roof. Panicking, I rushed in and saw bodies. Inspecting them, they were all knocked out, though clearly, whoever did this was much rougher on the adults. Whoever did this couldn't be a monster, right? There was thought and consideration here. Still no sign of Kai. Rushing through the building, I eventually found him being held by the collar of his now ruined shirt by a guy roughly my age with reddish skin, green hair, and a pair of horns and bat wings.

"I'll ask one last time. Where is he? I can tell he was here," he asked. Even though I was far away, I could tell his patience was wearing thin. He gave off this feeling, similar to Alex, whenever I acted out as a kid. That was probably one of the only times I was scared of that punk. Kai must be horrified. To my surprise, I saw him run right past after the demon yelped in pain. Looking around the corner, I saw he was holding his hand in pain. The little brat had bitten him. Not bad, but it was sure to piss him off. I stepped out from around the corner.

"Ryan! Help!" Kai called out, and I quickly pushed him behind me. Hearing my name, the demon recollected himself and looked at me with a death stare, one that I quickly returned.

"Judging by your clothes and that bracelet, I take it you're one of the three I'm looking for. I find harming children distasteful, so I'll make this quick..." He spoke, but I didn't bother listening, instead running to punch him in the face. He could spare me that 'Don't make me do this' crap. There's never an excuse for hurting kids. Instead of going for another punch he could predict, I simply grabbed him by his horns and slammed him into a wall, which, due to the damage he caused, he fell right through.

"Kai, run!" I ordered, and sure enough, he hurried out just in time for the demon to grab me by the throat as we flew into the sky. The whole way through, I kept punching. Was I probably going to die? Sure, but who cares? I did it once already. As long as I can protect those kids, that's fine. It was my fault they were there anyway if I heard right. Eventually, he grabbed my fist tight and looked me dead in the eyes.

"You've got some nerve. I can see why you were plucked out of your world." He said, almost with a hint of pride, "But you're seriously beginning to, what's the saying you use? 'Piss me off'? So I think I may just drop you. I'm sure I can make an excuse to my father."

"Oh yeah...guess you didn't notice this then..." I asked before he let out a scream of pain, and we began plummeting to the ground fast. When he wasn't looking, I managed to get out my pocket knife and slashed his wings. No matter how desperately he flapped them, we would keep falling. He began to panic, ranting about how I could've killed us both, but I didn't care. I just shut my eyes and waited to go splat, but right when I felt the ground get close, something caught me. When I opened my eyes, I was in the arms of a familiar girl in blue with a white scarf. Makoto quickly turned back to normal and gently sat me down.

"Are you okay? Some kid came saying you were in trouble?"

"Ow, yeah, surprisingly," I groaned out before, to my own shock, standing up with ease. "My back should at least be broken even if you caught me."

"Apparently, these bracelets aren't just for show. We have limited access to our powers, too," Jaune explained, appearing beside me in his yellow before reverting back as well. "You did not realize that? Yet you still chose to fight?"

"Gosh, are you brave or suicidal?" Makoto huffed, rolling her eyes at my lack of knowledge.

"Well, gee, it's not like anyone's told me this stuff! Which reminds me, how did you guys do that?"

"Your friend told us how. It seems the citizens know just as much about the heroes as anyone else." Makoto answered, grabbing my hand and pointing to the red gem on my bracelet, "Press in the gem and say the passphrase, 'Worlds Combined, Heroes Unite."

Ignoring how cheesy that passphrase was and how dangerous it could be for regular people to know it, I was just about to test it when suddenly, the demon got back up, and it looked furious. His gaze was directed at me as his wings slowly healed. "I am aware the three of you are new here, so let me introduce myself. I am Prince Xandric of the Dark Island. Most of all, I am pissed off that you dared cut my wings! Rest assured, I will make you pay."

"Yeah, yeah. You're done with your speech because that's all you're getting," I mocked before looking at Jaune and Makoto. It seems they had the same idea. Time to test out these suits.

"Worlds Combined, Heroes Unite!" We exclaimed in unison after pressing in the gems. Sure enough, the sequence was recreated as we suited up, backflips, poses, and all. We even did the same call-outs that came to us before.

"With the Passion of a Dragon: Hero Red!"

"With the Power of a Storm: Hero Yellow!"

"With the Grace of a Mermaid: Hero Blue!"

Xandric just laughed and clapped. "You kids learned faster than the last ones. Still, maybe you'll take a liking to this world and end up like them," He responded with a grin, showing off his large, sharpened teeth. With a snap of his fingers, the Shadows vanished. "But I would like at least one fight as retribution for my wings."

"Well, now that I know you're a prince, how can I say no?" I asked, suddenly excited as I raised up my fists. Jaune and Makoto did the same, but I could tell from their sloppy footwork and how far out they held their fists that they didn't know what they were doing. The three of us charged in at once, with me going for a Superman punch immediately. He caught it, of course, and threw me aside. Why did I even think that was a smart idea? It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, though, as Makoto and Jaune came in at once, accidentally punching each other when Xandric dodged their attacks. He jumped right over me, seeming to enjoy this. I could tell he was about to take a moment to gloat, so I swept his leg, knocking him on his ass. From there, I didn't waste any time. I stomped on his head and chest repeatedly, and soon, the other two joined in. After at least a solid minute of stomping him out, he blasted us back, but instead of monologuing or even pushing the offensive when we were knocked back, he just ran, blasting off into the sky.

"Well... I don't quite understand what happened, but I take it we've won?" Jaune asked, looking around as people started to come out of hiding. Looking around, we saw them all begin cheering. I have to admit, it felt kind of good. We returned to the castle that afternoon and were called into the throne room once again. Sure enough, Thaddeus and Eliza were waiting for us. We all waited. Makoto was standing up straight as if in the military, while Jaune and I were hunched over from pure exhaustion. She was such a showoff.

"You three showed great courage today. I will admit I was concerned when I saw more children were summoned." Thaddeus said, standing up from his throne, "But now that I have seen your character tested, running to protect others even when you could run, I believe you three are just who we need. Now, I will ask again: will you continue to fight the demons? If you do, I can return you to your worlds as if you never died. If not, you may either stay here and live out your life in peace, or I can allow you to pass on. The choice is yours."

It was certainly a big ask. He tried to give as many options as possible, but that was hard when it was either fight and maybe die, but we could go home or die either by demons or the way we died in our world. We looked at each other, and each gave our own answers, starting with Makoto: "I can't just live my life knowing people are in trouble when I can help them. I'm in.

Next was Jaune: "I suppose I would rather live, so I will comply. Besides, how can I say no with such a belle dame right there?" He said, only half joking as he winked at Eliza. Weirdo. After him, they all looked to me, seeming uncertain about my response. Eventually, I let out a sigh.

"Let me get one thing straight. I don't trust you guys, but...I'll stay," I answered simply. I don't need to justify my reasoning to them. They want my help, and they've got it. Thaddeus smiled with clear joy.

"Thank you all. We will officially begin tomorrow."