ITWOK Chapter 3: The king's request

A middle-aged man in a business suit paced anxiously, rubbing his forehead. "Why isn't there any reception? Damnit, I can't miss this meeting."

Nearby, a group of teenage girls in school uniforms huddled together, clutching their bags tightly. "How did we get here?" one of the girls asked, her eyes darting around. "We were on the street just a while ago."

A woman in a nurse's uniform knelt beside an elderly man seated on the cold marble floor. "Sir, can you hear me?" she asked gently, checking his pulse. "Are you feeling alright?"

The old man looked up at her with cloudy eyes. "Where is my granddaughter?" he mumbled. "I was just with her."

A young mother frantically searched the crowd, her face pale. "Has anyone seen a little boy?" she called out desperately. "He's only five, has short brown hair, and was wearing a blue shirt with the Daijimon mascot!"

Haru watched as confusion and fear spread like wildfire among the group. Everything was unfolding exactly as it had before. Today marked the arrival of one hundred heroes summoned from another world, destined to aid a foreign kingdom against relentless demon attacks plaguing the human lands. On this day, the heroes witnessed the plight of the people of Kladin and vowed to protect them. At least, that was the official story.

Just then, the palace doors swung open, silencing the chatter. A rotund man with a regal bearing strode in, followed by a beautiful young woman with flowing blonde hair and sky-blue eyes, and a wise-looking man clutching a staff.

"Welcome, heroes," the King's voice boomed, resonating through the grand hall. "I am Cornelius, King of Crown Almighty. I understand you all may be confused about where you are. Allow me to answer your questions. As some of you may have already guessed, you are no longer in your own world. You have been summoned to the world of Kladin, a realm in desperate need of your aid.

The king's expression suddenly turned grave. "Right now, our people face a dire threat. Demons have invaded the realm of man, wreaking havoc across our lands. Our towns lie in ruins, our people ravaged by their presence. Wherever they appear, only death and devastation follow."

He paused, letting the gravity of the situation sink in. Haru rolled his eyes, stifling a yawn. He had heard this speech before and was already making his way through the crowd towards the back.

"We have exhausted all other options," the king continued, his voice choking with emotion. "In our darkest hour, we turned to an ancient and powerful ritual to summon you, heroes from across time and space. You are our last hope, the light that can drive back the darkness threatening to consume our world."

The king scanned the room, meeting the bewildered and apprehensive gazes of the Summoned. "We know this is a great burden to place upon you, and we deeply regret the pain and confusion this summoning has caused. But we had no choice. Our very survival depends on your strength and bravery." He took a deep breath, placing a hand over his heart. "Will you stand with us, noble heroes? Will you lend us your strength to defeat the demons and save the world of Kladin from certain doom?"

Glancing around, the expressions of the Summoned were mixed. Some were surprised, while others sympathized with the king's plight. However, the majority were still uncertain. They had been summoned without prior warning, torn away from friends and family. It wasn't hard to imagine that many were already looking for a way back.

Immediately, one of the Summoned stepped up. He had a darker tanned complexion, thick eyebrows, dark black hair, and was in relatively good shape, appearing to be in his 30s. "This was incredibly selfish of you. We all have our own lives back in our world. You can't just kidnap us and expect us to give our lives to your cause. I demand you send us back!" His sentiments were shared by more than a handful in the group.

They had all been haphazardly taken from their lives and were now expected to risk their lives for people they didn't know? What kind of joke was that?

As the murmurs grew louder, the wise-looking man with the large staff coughed, bringing their attention back.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," the wise man said as he introduced himself. "My name is Nuel, chancellor for the king. It was under my guidance that you were all summoned. Unfortunately, the ritual required more mana than the kingdom could spare. This land once thrived with bountiful mana, but the ongoing presence of demons has poisoned the land, preventing us from extracting enough mana to send you back."

"So you summoned us knowing you couldn't send us back unless we help you?" the thick eyebrowed man asked, gritting through his teeth. The tension in the room grew thicker. Haru watched without a care, having been through this all before. However, his eyes eventually settled on a woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a slightly rumpled blouse with the top button undone, and a black pencil skirt.

'It should be happening soon.'

Suddenly, the soft, tearful cries of the beautiful blonde woman filled the air. "You're right," she said through her tears. "We ripped you from your homes and selfishly expected you to defend ours. I wish we didn't have to, but every time I see innocent lives lost, children losing their parents, and parents burying their children, my heart breaks." Her emotional words caused the Summoned to falter, some wanting to reach out.

She continued, "As the princess of this kingdom, I know it was selfish to expect you to help. I know we didn't have the right. I'm sorry. I promise I will do everything I can to send you all back."

Just as her voice trailed off, a sudden blaring alarm shattered the ambience and echoed through the grand hall.

"What's that?" one of the Summoned asked, a tinge of panic in their voice.

The king turned pale. "Oh, no—"

The king's guards, stationed at the entrance, sprang into action, their armor clanging as they rushed to secure the doors. "The demons are attacking!" a guard shouted.

Sounds of fighting immediately caught the attention of the Summoned, who rushed to the open windows. They saw strange, reddish humanoid beings with wriggling masses covering their entire bodies. Several guards already lay dead on the ground, while others dropped their weapons and tried to flee in panic.

Realizing these were the demons in question, the Summoned watched in horror as the demons chased the fleeing guards, ripping their bodies in half without hesitation. Once everyone outside was dead, the demons turned their attention to the Summoned, who began to panic. The demons started scaling the palace walls, heightening the sense of dread among the Summoned. Meanwhile, the guards at the door barricaded the entrance as if something was trying to break in.

With nowhere to go, the Summoned tried to distance themselves from the windows. The demons soon reached the windows and appeared in the room. Up close, they were even more grotesque with their red wriggling masses.

Several guards attempted to stop them but were quickly killed by their inhuman strength. The demons then turned their attention to the Summoned. They all tried to run to the back, where Haru was, but they couldn't outpace the demons. As one of the demons charged forward and was about to grab a woman, a blast of energy suddenly appeared and blasted the demon away.

The woman looked back and saw Nuel standing in front of her. "Stay behind me!" he shouted.

The other demons charged, but with a wave of his staff, energy undulated from Nuel's staff. The Summoned watched as beams of purple energy shot out, coiling around the demons and binding them. The demons fell to the ground, flailing in pain as arcs of energy continued to electrocute them. However, more demons soon appeared from the windows.

At the same moment, the door the guards had been holding burst into pieces, revealing an even larger, more hideous creature. It bellowed, shaking the entire palace. Some of the Summoned fainted, while others, like the thick eye browed man, grabbed swords from fallen guards, ready to defend themselves. Only Haru remained unfazed, casually checking the dirt under his nails.

Just as the large demon took a step forward, it squelched, blood escaping its mouth. A sword pierced through from behind, all the way out its mouth. As it fell, a striking woman in sleek, form-fitting clothes with long black hair and bangs covering one side of her face appeared. She looked up and said, "Sorry for being late."

"Seraphina!" the princess shouted in glee.

The demons who had just arrived through the windows ignored their fallen comrade, choosing instead to overwhelm Nuel with their numbers. However, a man somersaulted from above, and as soon as he landed, sword drawn, the demons found themselves in pieces, never knowing what had killed them. The man, with a relaxed smile and wearing loose-fitting clothes, turned to everyone and asked, "Is everyone okay?"

The room fell silent before a few of the Summoned stepped forward to thank the man.

"Ren, Seraphina, your arrival is most timely," the king declared. The two warriors bowed on their knees in unison. "Your Majesty," they both said respectfully. Ren apologized, "We would have arrived sooner, but we were delayed by the sudden demon attack."

"I understand," the king replied. "I hold nothing against you two. You both continue to be exemplary protectors of our kingdom." He gave each of them a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

The king then turned to the Summoned with concern, "I hope none of you were injured."

"Were those really the demons?" one of the Summoned asked, quickly following up with another question. "Why do you need us if you have such capable people?"

The king sighed. "I'm afraid what you just witnessed is only a small part of the true demons that plague our world. Occasionally, the demons send out small forces to test our defenses. In our world, there are seven human kingdoms of Kladin that protect humanity. We once attempted to invade the demons' land to end their terror, but they are unkillable."

"Unkillable?" one of the Summoned echoed in disbelief.

"Practically immortal, at least by us," the king replied. He approached Nuel and asked, "Chancellor Nuel, if you would."

Nuel nodded and retrieved a metallic shard that emitted a low, unsettling hum. The king took the shard and plunged it into the chest of one of the bound demons Nuel had incapacitated earlier.

The moment the shard pierced the demon's chest, it let out a piercing scream before suddenly disintegrating.

The Summoned gasped.

"What you saw was a piece of material not of our world," the king explained. "The demons you encountered are of the lowest rank, killable by regular weapons and the people of this world. However, higher-level demons can only be killed using materials not from our world. Unfortunately, it is an unsustainable method." Suddenly, the shard in his hand disintegrated, just like the demon before.

"We have tried everything we can but we have never managed to go beyond the border of the demons' realm. There simply isn't enough otherworldly material. Humanity has been hanging on by the grace of God and our ingenuity. But God did not put us here to do everything for us. We needed to figure things out ourselves. Our research showed that the demons and this otherworldly material are similar… they are both not of this world. Conventional means have failed us, but you... Heroes from beyond our world, are exactly what we need to defeat the demons!"

The king proceeded to lower his head, and the others followed suit, bowing towards the Summoned. "We know none of you asked for this, but I truly hope you will aid us in our time of need. You are our only hope!"

There was a brief moment of silence before another of the Summoned spoke up, a younger boy, likely in middle school, with spiked-up hair. "Will we be able to do those cool moves as well?" he asked.

Ren responded, "Of course. The skills we have learned can be equally learned by all of you."

Seraphina added, "In fact, because you are summoned from a different world, your ability to learn and adapt is exceptional. Our studies record other heroes who were once summoned to this world and quickly mastered the skills and abilities of the denizens of Kladin."

Nuel continued, "This world is rich in mana. It's only because of the demons that we have had to conserve it. However, mana is in everything, and everyone can tap into it. We channel mana through our mana circuits. Everyone has their own mana circuits, and once you complete yours, you can manifest powers beyond imagination. As one of the Summoned, you have the potential to match and even surpass our capabilities."

Every word seemed to please the Summoned, and those who were hesitant before began to warm up to the idea. Haru, however, sighed heavily. 'I forgot how cheesy their story was. Sigh... I guess I have to give it to them, though. The theatrics were pretty convincing.' Haru shook his head as he finally prepared to move. He was slowly making his way through the crowd when another man, tall and good-looking with dirty blonde hair, stepped forward.