My father the king, Elmer the VI, is preparing to reason with the heroes. I just couldn't hide my excitement in the process.

"Mother, I can't believe Micheal would show that kind of face. He never reveals a smile whenever we urge him to. Why is that?"

My twin sister, Chlora, whispers to mother at my side. Mom glances at me.

"Well... Ever since you were both little, your brother would divulge into reading the tales of the First Ones and would keep asking questions to your father about the Envoys of Justice."

"Well that explains it. I still find it funny since brother would only show a serious demeanor everytime we meet him."

I ignore both of them as they chuckled and I stare back only at the sight of father's fleeting back. We all smiled as we knew that father would meet the heroes knowing that this was the second summoning in about a thousand years. Father has been the second king to have the privilage of summoning the heroes, just as the past ancestor had.

I smiled... I felt proud... But eventually...

I broke.

"Fathherrr!!!"

Before me was a headless figure standing in the middle of the throne room, blood spraying through the space. I froze with a smile still plastered on my face. I couldn't quite figure out what was going on. It all happened so fast.

"HUNGRY...."

A voice brought me back to my senses, as well as it had brought chaos. He was there, another figure close to the falling lifeless body of father. I looked at him, and he looked back. Even as he bit through another piece of father's arms, there was only the look of emptiness. I'll never forget that voice.

"Y-you monster!! I'll kill you!"

As the crown prince of this Kingdom. It is also my duty to show a cold and majestic character just as father had. But now...

I can't think properly. It's as if my body wouldn't respond to me. I rushed in on that dark figure like a mad man. My thoughts were confused whilst saying..

I'll kill him.. I'll break him...

But before I could pounce on him, he raised his arms as if I was welcomed to do it.

Then he said...

"Feed... Me..."

.....

Wait! Wait! Waitttt!!

I snapped out of my rage. It was his voice all along!

Before I figured out what had happened, I realised I was at his arms reach. There, a hand the size of mine grabs me at my neck.

'What in the world!'

His grip was icy as frozen water and was like a steel-like vice. He pulled me close to his face.

This was the first time I looked at the face of terror. His dark distorted mouth quickly misshaped to that of lizard like jaws. I tried removing myself out of this situation with all my strength.

This is not how I wanted everything to end. I can't even avange father!!

But no matter how hard I swayed to and fro, it was useless as he seemed to have made his grip even more constricting.

All that I'm now asking is that..

Somebody.... Please help me...

•••

His majesty, King Elmer... Died.

Did he knew this would happen... Did he even know he'd die like this...?

The world revolved around slowly as I was deep in thought. I'm his royal advisor and the sole commander of his army, as well as his friend... However, I did nothing as he had been instantly killed in front of me. For all I know, I could have stopped that from happening. But I didn't...

Something seemed to have stopped me. I'm confused.

"Commander!! Commander Conrad! Your orders! The prince is in danger!"

As I hear a voice, my head automatically turns to see a dark figure... strangling his higness, Prince Micheal.

What am I doing!!?

"Guards! Protect the Royal Family!!"

I thought I saw my men pause there for a moment but then they do as I say and perform a defensive formation.

I see all the noble families running around like headless chickens so I order two of my men to lead them out of the castle including the summoned heroes. They have yet to know why they were here in the first place.

I look back at the existence grabbing hold of the prince.

"Unhand the Prince!"

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As I held my sword, I retain little amount of hostility as possible. This thing might straight out kill Micheal if I don't hold back.

The creature turns his head to look at me as if sizing me up and down. Unexpectedly, I didn't think he'd let go of the prince that easily but still, he suddenly threw the prince slamming him on the floor. The impact must've made the prince faint.

"You bastard! Someone get a healer!"

I felt chilling air coming from the creature as it looked at me with bad intentions. He then starts walking towards me so I prepare my sword awaiting for his next actions. I took the rear so I could observe this creature first-hand while my men would surround it on the sides. When he stopped, I discern a small movement coming from his shoulders before it became an instantaneous hand grab to my face. Nonetheless, I had barely parried with a similar movement after casting myself with enhancing magic to which I counterattack with a single stab infused with energy qi. Reading his movements were too simple.

This causes the entity to take a blow to the chest all the while forcing him to land on the opposite side of the room while he hits the walls with a crack. It should be enough to neutralise that thing. As I thought that, I hear something breaking only to see a seriously bent sword with a seriously damaged edge in my left hand.

"How hard is that thing?!" I deepen my gaze.

I look back at the creature only to find it standing up like it had been when it previously killed the king.

"What... Is... this feeling?.."

I hear a low groan from the entity as I find him touching the area I stabbed my sword with. He stares at me turning over to the broken sword. I don't know how but I think he's feeling threatened. Before anything else, I feel distressed with the way he stares at the space between me and my men as the atmosphere around us tightens. I caught sight of the ground beneath us turning dimmer as though the grey tiles were shaping into something sinister.

'This is bad...' I thought.

I don't feel mana fluctuations on the surroundings, just freezing temperature. This isn't even glacial magic! What is this?!

It's as if I couldn't move anymore. My body froze but there's no sign of ice developing through my body. My eyes stares only at the incoming figure in front of me. Those empty white eyes are directed only at me.

'Come on!! Move!!'

Just when I thought I'd tell my men to retreat. Something small but really fast whizzes in the air along with the sound of what may seem like thunder. It took me by surprise when I see a small single hole in the creature's torso. To make it more astonishing, another series of holes appears in his body followed by similar crackling sounds.

Silence ruled the throne.

"I-I can move?"

"What was that?"

I hear the voices of my men then I realise that I too can move. The creature stopped walking while staring at the holes in his body.

'Who did that?'

I glance back to find a man dressed in green heavy leather clothing and in his hand was some sort of rod or weapon.

"I don't know what the hell's going on here but seeing that guy over there loosing his head like a bottle cap and that guy eating it up like a cracker, it feels shit on my conscience." He speaks out while directing his sights at the fallen king towards the entity in front of me.

If I recall.

"You're one of the heroes?"

The man raises an eyebrow.

"Hero? Well, that's not exactly wrong though but I'm a soldier. The rank and name's Private Richard."

Hearing his answer, I turn my sight back at the creature.

"Thank you for assisting us Sir Richard. It may be hard explaining some things since his majesty had just passed away, but right now we need your power. You made the hole in that thing's chest right?"

Richard agrees.

"If you're talking bout my gun, then yeah, I shot the-"

"Annoying..."

Before Richard could complete his sentence, something really ominous grabs my attention and the sensation of death suddenly strikes my mind.

•••

Everyone in the room including both Conrad and the modern soldier felt a really cold sensation on their spines as the human-like entity spoke. But when they thought he was going to do something even more dangerous, the entity finally fell down with a small thud. Ending this horrid event, the chilling atmosphere around the throne slowly changed.

"W-what was that?" One of Conrad's men broke the silence.

"It's over. That's for sure." The modern soldier answers with a shrug.

"Wait... That thing's still breathing..." Conrad replies.

Following his line of sight, they all cock their heads as they stare at the fallen figure. With dark streaks coursing around him as if wrapping him up, it looked like he only suffered injuries to some degree even with bullet holes covering his entire body.

"We should finish the job."

"That thing killed his majesty, the king. We have to!"

The royal guards were voicing out their thoughts. However, Conrad stops them.

"We don't know if it was summoned together with the other heroes or even if it is a hero itself. And according to the Olden King's Decree, killing a summoned hero means threatening the rights of every hero within other kingdoms. We don't want that to happen. Finding loopholes around that decree is treason itself."

As he said this, the expression of the guards were filled with bitterness.

"In order to find out what it is that happened with the summoning ritual, we need to know about the people involved. If it turns out that this thing was summoned to kill the king on purpose, then and now can we slay it in the name of his majesty."

He looks at his second in command.

"Fergus, I need you to dispatch your men. Stop the news of the death of his majesty. If even one of the demon lords finds out about this, there's no kingdom to protect anymore. I trust you can do this with consideration."

The man named Fergus salutes and immediately leaves the room with other guards. Conrad turns back to the modern soldier.

"As for the heroes." He bows deeply.

"I am terribly sorry for the sudden commotion." Conrad apologizes. Richard looks at him, confused. So he asks.

"Though you say that, didn't the said king just die. If it's that, shouldn't it be an even bigger commotion?"

Although seeing a medieval styled room coupled with metal armor suited guards, it took a while to adapt himself with what was going on. But to the composed Conrad, he thought it would be of a shock knowing that an actual king who ruled a kingdom had just died in front of them.

"His majesty the king prepared for this moment even if it risked his life. If one of the heroes were in rage knowing we just took them away from their worlds, he had told me himself that he would bare the consequences. He left a message for the crown prince just in case it would truly happen."

Conrad bends his head down with a gloomy expression cast around his face.

"Just not the way I was expecting he would die."

Richard sensed this and immediately changed the topic just to remove the state Conrad was in.

"So what now?"

"Now? Now that you mention it, we have to gather all the heroes. Also, the creature needs to be detained. We don't know its weakness but seeing that we can wear it down to that state, throwing it in the dungeon would be fine. Just don't forget to bind it down with the manacite chains."

Before everything was finally over, several other guards enters the throne with agitated expressions on their faces. One of them who seemed to be the leading captain nervously answers.

"C-commander Conrad, when you ordered us to protect the heroes, t-two boys managed to get away before we could calm them down..."

"What! How did that happen!?"

"W-we don't know but one of the them might have panicked and had cast some kind of magic that suspended us midair. With unknown reasons, it took us some time to get down however those two already ran away.."

'No way.... It's too soon for the heroes to show signs of awakening...'

Conrad begins to fear something and orders his men to search for the boys in the town nearby which would likely be the place they would ran off to.

On the otherhand.

"So this isn't Earth anymore... I just can't believe something like this is happening.."

Richard felt strange knowing he was in a different world and it was still hard to accept it.