The group shuffled slowly behind the princess. Her steps were strong and confident, befitting what seemed to be a royal like her. Jack was too busy to notice that, however.

He was busy keeping the group in check.

Elijah and Charlotte had been the last two to wake up, and he’d made sure to watch over them and inform them on the situation as best he could. He didn’t tell them about the stupid things the princess had tried to explain, but he assured them that they meant no harm. They were still pretty scared about the incident, though, and at some point both had started latching onto him for protection. Liam was doing the same with Mary and Arturo, who seemed ready to lash out at anything around them.

Mary’s eyes briefly flashed towards him and her eyes went from anger to guilt, only to switch back to anger again. He just smiled and waved. He was glad he removed the knife from the girl without losing any fingers. He very much needed those.

The only one who seemed to be taking this pretty well was Abby, the one he expected the most trouble out of. She had always subverted his expectations, the small, fragile girl constantly showing a bravery unfit for her size. She still kept close to him and the twins, but it seemed she was doing it more for them than for her. He had a knack for being wrong about this sort of thing, though. So he wanted to make sure.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she flinched lightly, only to turn to him in surprise. “Hey, Abby… You holding up? I’m sorry I’ve been taking care of the twins.” Abby gave him a look of bewilderment before shaking her head. “No, I’m fine, it's just… You heard what she said, right?” He looked to the princess, who was still taking them to a place he had absolutely no idea about. “Demons? Angels? The tooth fairy and Santa Claus? Yeah, I heard.”

She pushed him away playfully, which assured him of her mental health. “No, idiot. Be serious about this… What if what she’s saying is true? Remember what happened? With the flashing lights?” Despite her words, her eyes seemed a bit odd. It was as if she was excited about the kidnapping. He was baffled. Even if this wasn’t actually just a normal kidnapping, if they were forced to battle against demons… Wouldn’t that just be a million times worse?

They weren’t merchandise, they were battle slaves.

“Let’s hope that isn’t the case, Abby. I don’t know where you come from but in my house, demons aren’t something we want to be near.” Venom dripped from his voice, much more than he expected. He’d been told stories of demons killing others with no regards or guilt. Soulless creatures that thrived on the suffering of others. The thought alone that they might exist sent a chill down his spine.

This situation was weird, yes, but he wasn’t going to just accept the fact that he’d been summoned to a new world with these horrid creatures. He watched as her eyes lost their luster, and she looked down with a new, proper insecurity. She realized he’d already guessed that was the case. “Ah… Sorry. You’re smart, I forget that, Jack. If… If we do have to fight, what do we do?” She seemed scared now, properly so. He had no idea where that earlier excitement had come from, but he was glad to have snuffed it out.

It made it easier to bring her mood up on his terms. “We do what they tell us to. They don’t seem like bad people, especially the fancy one in the dress. If we just act correctly I’m sure we’ll find a way through this, Abbs.” She looked up at him with a sad smile, and he smiled back. It was best to keep good terms with friends in a time of stress, especially the weaker ones. The bigger ones tended to turn violent and lashed out.

Numbers always beat strength, however.

Eventually, the princess had led them to a room with a long, dark table in the middle, stretching a good 14 feet. The table was empty, giving it a bit of an ominous feel to it when compared to the rest of the majestically designed room. “We’re here! Everyone please take a seat. We will begin a proper ceremony soon. I apologize for not explaining to you fully but we needed to get things in proper order…”

As she said that the table in front of them suddenly sparkled, a whole world appeared in front of them. The group gasped as the table in front of them blossomed with life. He looked under the table and off to the walls but didn’t see any signs of projectors or anything technological.

“It had been a while since so many heroes appeared at once.”

He looked up at her. She had mentioned that before, and it didn’t make sense. Along with him, they’d taken 7 people. If what she said was true (and that was a big if), that they’d have to fight an army of demons… Seven people would do nothing to curb a victory. Hell, he wasn’t even sure all seven of them could take even a single demon of mythological legend without being torn to shreds… As she spoke more and more about the rising threat and the plague that would soon come to devastate the world, he wondered just how seven weak-minded college students could do anything to help…

A shiver ran down his spine. There was only one thing he could think of that would help stop a demonic invasion, the same conclusion a completely delusional cult that dressed up in old timey armor and fancy dresses would probably come to. Human sacrifice.

He looked back toward his friends, only to come across the determined and anticipation-filled faces of Liam Arturo and, to his surprise, Abby again. He cursed under his breath, remembering hearing about soldiers who were willing to risk their lives for their country, who threw their own bodies onto live grenades to save the lives of others. While he may not have understood their drive to do such a thing, he understood their necessity. Men like that were important for the continued success of humanity, and he made sure to thank them for their sacrifices at the graveyard during patriot day every year.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

But this? These two only seemed to get more excited as the word ‘hero’ spouted out of the woman’s mouth. This was stupid and inane. Were certain humans doomed to want to sacrifice their lives for others? It was admirable, but he didn’t want to see his friends walk down that same path. This wasn’t something they should get involved in.

He slammed a hand down on the table, getting the attention of everyone there. The princess gave him a look of surprise, and he hated just how genuine it looked. Like he was the bad guy. The bad guy wouldn’t be taken from his home like nothing happened, forced to listen to insane drivel about demons and kingdoms. Especially by a girl who seemed just as anxious as them.

“You say you need our help, but I’ve yet to come up with a way we can actually do any of that?” He tried to keep a friendly look, but the mask was starting to crumble. Everyone around him seemed to be doing so well in this situation, so why couldn’t he? Even Elijah and Charlotte seemed to be buying into the self-righteous drivel.

The princess’ smile turned wide, showing her true, innocent nature. “Because you heroes are vessels of potential. You are beings that can learn skills faster through the will of god… We need you all to accept your roles as heroes, so that we can see a better tomorrow.” The words sounded genuine, or at least as genuine as his wracked brain could notice.

What of their death? What of their life? Were they just soldiers to this woman? Beings to throw into the flame, hoping to quench it in their blood? “...and how do you suppose we learn this fancy magic of yours?” He sat back down, no longer interested in instigating a fight with the girl. He noticed the shifting glances of the knights next to her, the way their hands tightened around their spears. He didn’t know how they knew he was angry, but they knew, and they had prepared to apprehend him just in case.

For all it was worth, being called heroes, it sure felt like they were hostages. “We can teach you the ways of magic! But most magical power comes from the awakening. You train by fighting demons, and grow from their strength.” Ah, so they weren’t considering sacrifice, just something twice as stupid. Growing from demonic strength… How terrifying.

“We… We’ll grow stronger? If we awaken we can help, right?” It was Liam who said those words, and Jack almost wanted to strangle him. “Do we even have a choice? Can we ever return home?” Arturo said, finally asking the right questions. Her eyebrows furrowed with guilt, a weak smile on her face. “We… We aren’t sure we can take you back to your world until you’ve reached a proper strength. You’ll be able to return on your own rights should that be the case.”

He looked around and noticed his friends' relieved faces. They were too easily placated.

“...That means we’d have to fight for our lives until we do, is that not true?”

The room became silent. His face turned serious, no longer hiding behind a calm facade. He noticed Mary looking at him with a hint of worry, it seemed she was also siding with the princess, even after her little outburst. He’d had enough. “Is that your demand? We become your soldiers, and then we gain our freedom?” He’d never seen such a mortified look on someone else’s face.

“N-no! We will treat you like heroes! I… I apologize for taking you away from your home but… but please understand that we had no choice…” Of course she didn’t, just like he had no choice in the matter, huh? “I guess that means we have no choice, then.” Just as he said that, he heard the sound of a chair scraping back. “Jack!” It was Liam, looking at him with an angry, worried look.

Shit. He’d gone too far.

The last thing he needed was to make enemies with the only people he could rely on at the moment. Sighing, he sank back into his chair, looking defeated. “Sorry, man… I’m just a bit stressed. You understand, right?” He gave a weak smile to show just how vulnerable he felt, happy when Liam’s face suddenly looked sympathetic.

“It’s ok, man… We just have to get through this together.” Liam’s face shone with determination, and the rest of the group almost seemed to light up with a fire. He made sure a copy of that same light appeared in his own eyes. He couldn’t afford to be the only one that was left out of this situation. “Yeah, together.” He grinned, the smile not reaching his eyes as the rest of the group started speaking out with words of encouragement.

This was terrifying.

It wasn’t until the mood lifted that the princess started speaking again, her voice no longer the bubbly voice of before. She seemed a bit more grounded about the situation, as if she just now realized she had ripped these people out of their normal lives. “We… We’ll make sure you all are properly prepared for the demonic invasion. We took extra care to find proper areas to grow your awakened classes… Oh! I still haven’t told you about that, have I?”

The princess pulled out a white sheet of paper and needle from her dress, handing it to Liam. She must have thought him to be the new leader, now. “Please, hero… Awaken the class given to you at birth.” He looked at her weirdly before grabbing the blank sheet of paper. “What do I do with this?” she just gave him a genuine, patient smile, handing him a small silver needle. “We require your blood to properly start the ritual.” Jack flinched at the words.

Bloods and rituals. This was insanity, It had to be. Even Liam seemed to finally get a reality check, before stupidly taking in a deep breath and pricking his finger. The blood slowly ran down to his nail as he held it over the page. Everyone, including Jack, was waiting for baited breath for something to happen. Though, his thoughts were completely different from theirs. A moment passed and the blood did nothing but slowly seep into the page.

Liam chuckled weakly, turning to the princess with skepticism. “What was that supposed to-” As if on cue, the page turned to flames in front of him, the embers flying into the air and forming back together slowly. The embers finally gathered together to form a new, black page with writing on it. Jack couldn’t make out the words from that distance, but as Liam and the princess read from the page, he realized it must have been good news.

“The champion! That’s amazing, Hero!” She smiled at Liam while they checked their hands and legs, as if they had just suddenly appeared on him. A cold, heavy feeling appeared in Jack’s stomach as he saw his friend’s eyes light up with an ominous blue. Magic, it was real. This was real.

As the rest of the group exclaimed in awe, all he could think about was what that really meant. He’d have to fight demons, have to fight a battle with things he could barely comprehend…

He’d have to live through a literal hell.