The cases of Hero summoning gone wrong are awful. Sometimes the hero goes on a rampage right after the summon, crippling the princess and going on a self-righteous vengeful rampage destroying the country for no apparent reason and armed with an unnatural foresight. Sometimes the summon is discarded for being deemed worthless and was in fact a late bloomer, and it sides with the enemy causing ruin to the country. Or a whole group, or 'classroom' as they call themselves come and one guy, normally the bullied one, slips out, gets insanely powerful and overthrows the kingdom. Worse yet are the 'dreamers'. These heroes believe that the world is a game and they are the ones playing. They call everyone 'NPC' and show no regard for their status, health or belongings. They achieve a psychotic state hero scholars denominate 'murder hobo' and start rampaging and forcing girls to join their harem. In fact, the word 'harem' coming from an otherworlder is a sign of danger.

In all situations, when things go pear-shaped regarding hero summoning, the blame is always, always, always the princess' burden. Eww. And people ask me why I'll never summon anyone.

Exerpt from Princess Lumina of Yutis' journal.

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I find myself dreaming, back to the day of the assassination attempt. Floating into my own body, I watch and feel as if it was happening again.

The stone shield should be strong enough to resist the rhinorses going over it. But they stopped and are bashing on it. I can feel Lumina's breath on my neck and she is hugging me. Despite my hopes, the stone is cracking. I can feel the pounding on the stone as well as if they were stomping on my bones.

I won't die today.

"Nullify Pain!"

I use a spell to nullify my sense of pain. This is going to hurt.

Lumina could cast something to help us, but she is completely overtaken by panic. The square was full of students, why is nobody dealing with these rhinorses? The stone breaks and a rhinorse hoof breaks my leg. Another part breaks and it is Lumina's turn to have a leg crushed. The mana fails and the stone wall crumbles, vanishing into motes of mana moments later.

I won't let them kill me today.

"Stone Bones!"

They come. I reinforce my body with earth magic, my bones as strong as the stone I created. Not good enough, I know. A kick on my back, several ribs were broken. The other one tramples our legs, ruining them beyond recognition. I only register the damage. Pounce on us, it breaks my pelvis and also Lumina's. She screams in pain.

Like hell I will go down here.

"Undying Resilience."

Necromancy. I won't hold back anymore. With this spell, my soul won't depart my body even after I run out of mana. It can only end if I dismiss it. When I run out of mana it will consume my soul's energy, and once my soul is completely consumed the body will die naturally.

"Fire Shield!"

I cover us with a wreath of flames. The beasts ignore it and keep attacking. My spine broke and my kidneys were smashed.

Students are raining crude and low powered spells on the rhinorses but they ignore it and keep attacking us.

I look at the beasts and with my magic sight, I can see they are under the effects of two spells. One is a berserker effect that greatly increases their strength and endurance at the cost of their lifeforce. The other is... a tracking spell? It is tethered to Lumina.

I focus my gaze on the princess, no longer screaming after the rhinorse broke her ribcage. I can feel her consciousness fading. The tracking spell is on her soul. I can see it. There is no way to dispell it, not with the mere moments I have left. No time to cast a spell.

The tracking spell will end if Lumina's soul departs from her body. It is only a matter of tricking it then.

"Drain Soul, Split Soul, Possession."

Not a complete spell, but a will. I fill my mind with the concepts I want and try to guide the magic to my bidding.

I shall survive.

Spontaneous magic. I might explode but I won't die.

I am undying.

I take and hold Lumina's soul within myself and put half of my own in her body. This will make both of us undying and I will be able to restore it after the danger is gone. If someone heals us. C'mon, it is a magic academy. Half the students should know some healing magic.

I feel the power of Lumina's soul within me and the unbearable quintessential pain of having one's soul ripped in twain. I am in Lumina's body. I am in my body. I can feel Lumina's pain. Her body is ruined. A rhinorse stomps and cracks her skull.

Students keep attacking but the tracking spell on Lumina's soul ended. They are rampaging everywhere now. Somebody please come and heal us. It is no use to return a soul to a damaged body that will die right after. I can't breathe. I can't speak.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

A rhinorse runs and the students flee in all directions. Some of them fall down and are trampled. The knight class students are slashing at the beast, but the berserk spell is ongoing. Someone must dispel that.

But please heal us. At least come to see if the princess is alive.

My heart still beats. Blood is gushing out of my body, can't you see?

'Where is Claire?'

'Where is Sora?'

Two voices one intent inside my head. Help. Hello, Lumina. I hope you don't hate me for ripping your soul from your body. I promise you will be restored if I someone heals our fucking wounds.

I look around. So much blood. I can feel the wind on my ribs poking outside. There is blood on my throat but I can't cough. Can't breathe. I can only move my eyes.

There is a teacher. Good. Do your job and come check if the princess is alive.

Heal us.

He is casting a spell. What?

"Area Dispel!"

NO.

You fucking idiot.

There goes my Nullify Pain spell.

Pain.

Almost every bone in my body is broken.

Overwhelming pain.

I faint.

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"Aidan! Aidan! Wake up!"

Aidan woke up screaming and sit down, startling his beastkin companion and the still sleeping dragon. The Stout Goblin inn was almost burned down to the ground that day.

"Aidan, it is fine! It is me, Sora."

"Sora!"

Without a thought, Aidan hugs Sora. The blankets are pulled down revealing the naked form of Princess Lumina.

"Aidan. Calm down. Talk to me! You are awake!"

"Sora. Sora. I had a nightmare. I remembered everything. It wasn't an accident, it was an assassination attempt. What happened. Why it happened. What I did. Oh, gods, what did I do? I must write. The formulae is fresh in my head."

"Yes, put on pants at least."

He noticed he was hugging the girl stark naked. Aidan slipped into a pair of pants and made a beeline for the desk. He then started to draw magic diagrams like a madman. Sora stood behind him a little afar, watching. She knew better than interrupt him when he was that way.

After the fourth sheet of paper, she decided to go back to the bed and check on the princess. She had a pulse and was breathing. She was afraid Lumina, the real Lumina, was going to wake up anytime and throw a tantrum. After admiring the beautiful and unblemished skin of the princess for longer than she needed to, Sora decided to dress her up in a silk camisole at least. And slide the blankets back over the girl.

After making sure the princess was warm and confortable she went downstairs to pick up breakfast and dismiss any rumors that erupted after people heard Aidan screaming. And indeed people were wondering.

It would take another four hours for Aidan to finish drawing his diagrams. Lumina didn't wake up even after Sora shook her to eat.

"Done. A seventh circle spell. Too bad I can't finish it." Aidan declared with finality. Skippy understood that as its cue to snuggle with his master.

"What is that?"

"This is the incomplete formula for the magic that put us in this whole trouble. But it is also the magic that allowed these two human bodies that share the same room as you right now to remain alive. Well, it was technically a combination of two spells."

Sora sighed. Aidan spoke of magic to her like she was some veteran magus. But how in the name of the gods did Aidan cast a seventh circle spell while being trampled by the rhinorses? But the boy didn't wait to continue his unasked for lecture. He shrunk a bit as he went on.

"Spontaneous magic. Born out of necessity, of my will to survive." Aidan looked at the sleeping beauty before continuing, "Remember when the headmaster told us he investigated the attack scene? That he could feel my strong intent to protect the princess?"

"Yes, I do."

Aidan scratched Skippy's neck wrapped around his own before continuing.

"This is a necromantic spell." Aidan showed Sora the diagram he drew. Sora was worried something like that happened, but to hear the confirmation from the horse's mouth was too much. She covered her mouth.

"I used this spell to take Lumina's soul into myself and split half of my own soul back into her body. It was the only way to keep her alive. Because ever since the attack I am running an Undying Resilience spell."

Sora went pale. She didn't even completely grasp what the spells should do, but the name and category said enough.

"Can you put it back? The princess soul in her body."

"I don't know. What I do know is that I am going to undo the spell that kept us alive this whole year of recovery."

"You are in perfect health. So is Lumina. I'll have a healing potion ready in any case."

"Here goes nothing! Dismiss Undying Resilience."

He felt the drain of the spell stop. The magic that was slowly eroding the souls in his body stopped.

"For fifteen months this spell was active. I don't know why headmaster Astromelicus missed it but in his defense soul magic is hard to spot."

"Was that the reason your body had no mana?"

"Yes. The spell consumes mana to keep the soul inside the body no matter what injuries it has suffered. Once the mana has run out, it consumes the very soul it was meant to protect..."

"It spent fifteen months eating your soul," Sora spoke like a question, but she was just reluctant to admit she understood.

Aidan glanced at Lumina's face and sighed before answering.

"Not only mine. I'm afraid the princess' soul should be in tatters. I know it is still in here." He touched his chest. "Because I get those glimpses of her. But I don't know the condition. I need to recover some mana before I investigate it further."

"You should eat something. It has been more than a year since your last meal."

"Strained soup? I don't think I can eat anything solid."

"I'm on it."

Sora went to ask for some strained soup and Aidan held Lumina's hand. He had all the memories, all the feelings of the time he spent in her body. It meant he could shift his consciousness between them. He felt his mana gathering inside himself. Maybe after he gathered more energy he could try shifting bodies.

He finished putting on his clothes and just sat there waiting for Sora to return. He then drank the soup slowly, feeling the warm liquid going down into his stomach. After finishing the bowl of soup, he let his thoughts wander. He went through rehabilitation once. One more time wouldn't be much of a bother.

"She is not waking up, is she?"

"I don't know, Sora. I said I need to see the condition of her soul before I can even consider putting it back in her body."

Sora looked Aidan in the eyes. She knew when he was hiding part of the truth. And indeed he was. The situation lingered for too long. These effects were supposed to last minutes, not over a year.

"But..." She goaded him into continuing. His lecturer persona was difficult to deal with.

"But It has been too long. I don't know how much Lumina is left. And I can't measure it right now. If I only had my spellbooks."

"Your spellbooks are in the academy. Headmaster Astromelicus assured me they would be kept safe."

"I think I am over my limit."

Aidan sat on the bed and wobbled. His vision spinning and blurring. Sora rushed to support him.

"Limit?"

Aidan fell unconscious.

Sora laid the boy's body next to the princess once again. After tying the silk ribbon around their ankles she checked if both were breathing and found nothing strange. They were just sleeping. Skippy found a spot over them and laid down.

She organized the desk, there were other magic spell circles Aidan made besides the unnamed, incomplete seventh-circle one. She arranged them to dry and stored the writing implements on the desk.

After that, she sat on the chair and cried.