The Elemental Heroes

The tension within the students was beyond palpable. They all huddled together with dread gripping their hearts. None of them had any time to process their predicament.

High Mage Jaakobah said out loud. "Prince Hazug awaits us!"

The wooden doors behind them opened and green gangrel creatures flooded in. They were slightly shorter than the students. They had deformed teeth with blackened gums, pointy and crooked ears. Some wore brown leather clothes that looked too poor to function, others just wore a loincloth. They all wielded clubs and spears. The tallest one, garbed in thin leather armour, had a whip in his hand. He was the captain of this gang of goblins, and he seemed revolted by the sight of the students.

"Get moving, you humans!" The captain shouted and the goblins shoved them forward and they carried onwards with fear gripping them. "Move it, you slugs!"

The goblin captain swung his hand and cracked the whip in the air, which got the students moving faster. The goblins kept shoving the students through the dreadful corridor with the demon mages behind them. The demon fortress was situated on an extinct volcano where dark clouds perpetually blanketed the skies and blotted out the sun.

The goblins pushed them through a grand-looking door and into a hall. A purple carpet rolled out, torches were nailed to every pillar. The windows reveal the bleak ash lands of Virmalum. At the other end of the hall, the Demon Prince Hazug sat on his throne.

Despite being a demon, his facial features could only be described as beautiful. His long red hair and skin were so smooth, that any woman would get jealous. He had curved horns on his head which surprisingly did not look too intimidating. His chin and nose were perfectly shaped. He wore a sharp pair of black pants and shoes. He did not wear a shirt. Instead, he wore a black trench coat.

The goblins shoved the students towards Prince Hazug, one of the gals from the back tripped and fell. The goblin captain did not like that at all. "Get up! You maggot!" He raised his whip in the air.

"Captain!"

Everyone froze in place as a voice boomed from the throne. Prince Hazug was standing in a menacing posture, glaring at the goblin who was about to whip the girl. The other gals helped their friend up and the goblin captain stepped back and bowed submissively.

"I apologise on the Captain's behalf. He doesn't know the cultured way to treat guests. Unfortunately, it is simply not in his nature to be refined." Prince Hazug said, his voice was deceptively sweet like honey.

"Where are my manners? Welcome, heroes from another world." He bowed, "I am Prince Hazug of the Virmalum Empire. You have all been summoned here to aid us in our war against the alliance."

There was a lingering silence. The students gave Prince Hazug a look that showed a mix of confusion, reluctance, and dread. No one gave any response to the prince.

"I see it on all of your faces. You do not fully understand the situation you are in." Prince Hazug said. "Who amongst you will speak for your company?"

The students exchanged glances with each other, none daring to step forward. Prince Hazug eyeballed Jaakobah, both sharing an impatient look. Prince Hazug descended down the steps from his throne scanning every student he saw.

He raised a finger and pointed at the gal cliques. "Sheep."

He then pointed at the athletes. "Sheep."

Then, the otakus, "Sheep."

He did not bother looking through the regular students. Prince Hazug set his sights on the popular crowd until he spotted Hayate and Keika.

"Ah." He pointed at Hayate and Keika. "You two."

Hayate flinched and Keika gasped. Prince Hazug continued to point at him, "Shepherds among the sheep. Step forward."

Hayate's heart hammered in his chest but gathered himself and stepped forward to stand in front of his class. Keika remained in her spot, leading to Prince Hazug's annoyance.

"I won't tell you a second time." Prince Hazug growled with clenched teeth. Everyone had their sights on Keika. Her entire being was struck with fear.

"Keika-san." Hayate whispered to her. "Come on."

Keika somehow managed to inch onwards, standing behind Hayate. She grabbed his sleeve and they both stood before Prince Hazug. The demon prince got up to their faces, he stood at an imposing six-foot-four height.

"You two will speak for your company." Prince Hazug told them. "What are your names?"

"Hayate Yoshida."

"Keika Tsukasa."

They fumbled on their words but they managed to introduce themselves.

"First names are Hayate and Keika as I understand it? Very well. This is your situation. You are heroes from another world. You have been bestowed with great magic and power. Aid us in our war of conquest and you will be rewarded. To all of you in this company, great rewards shall be granted to you."

Hayate, Keika, and the rest of the students looked like they were still processing what Prince Hazug said to them.

"Hayate-Kun. This... This is like those light novels the otakus like to read." Keika blurted out. The otakus were too much in shock by their surroundings to realise what she had said.

"You mean those kinds of stories about being transported into another world?" Hayate whispered.

Prince Hazug cut in, "I'm going to assume whatever you are mumbling about indicates that this is not beyond your imagination. Then you know what is the right decision to make. What do you say, Hayate?"

Hayate had to swallow his heart down. He looked back at his classmates, none of them could give any input on a decision. He looked at his two yes-men and then at Keika. There was only one choice to make. "We are... We are in."

"Hayate-kun?" Keika nudged his arm. "How can you-"

"Shhh!" Hayate shushed her. He turned back to the others. "Listen. Everyone, this is our only option."

The class snuck glances at the goblins and demons surrounding them. There was no telling what was going to happen if they refused Prince Hazug. For all they know, the demons and goblins would kill them all right then and there, or worse.

Keika was not entirely convinced. "Wait. What about-"

"Don't." Hayate cut in, "Don't say anything. Just trust me." He turned back to the demon prince, "Prince Hazug. We will help you."

"Excellent, heroes from another world! You have my word. You will be handsomely rewarded." Prince Hazug bowed to them with a subtle smirk on his face.

"What reward are you talking about?" Hayate asked.

"Well, that depends on you." Prince Hazug said, "What is it that you all want the most? Do you all desire riches? Power? Control? Do you seek to rule this world alongside the Virmalum Empire?"

"We want to go back. To our world." Hayate answered. The rest shared looks before nodding in agreement.

"Ah, of course." Prince Hazug smiled, "That would make sense. Very well, see to it that you all do your part in our war against the alliance, and we will aid you in finding a way back to your world. You help us, we help you."

"Okay." Hayate spoke for the class.

"Very good, Hayate." Prince Hazug nodded and gave a pat on Hayate's arm. "I can see you possess mighty valour. The qualities of a leader among men. I can tell you have been told this before."

Hayate did not say anything and Prince Hazug said, "Jaakobah, the stone."

Mage Jaakobah came to stand by the prince's side. He held out a transparent crystal ball resting on a cushion to Hayate.

"This is a seer stone. It reveals the magic residing in the one who holds it." Jaakobah explained, "Hold the stone, and we will see what elemental magic you possess and what kind of hero you are. The ball will turn into the corresponding colour of your magic. Now show us, Hayate."

Hayate glanced back at his classmates before he took the seer stone from Prince Hazug's hand. The demons stared at him with an expectant expression, like they were anticipating a specific colour from Hayate.

The colours in the ball swirled from colourless into a glacier blue. Hayate's hand was feeling a cold chill from the ball.

"Uh, is this stone supposed to feel this cold?" Hayate asked the demons, only to realise they sported displeased looks on their faces.

"Blizzard magic? Hayate is the Blizzard Hero?" Jaakobah asked, confused by this reveal.

"So, does this mean I have ice magic?"

"Yes." Prince Hazug gritted his teeth.

"Is something wrong?"

Prince Hazug grumbled in annoyance. "This is not what we were expecting." He pointed at the one next in line. "Nevertheless, Keika."

"Eh?" Keika flinched.

"Step forward." Prince Hazug said, "It is your turn. Show us your magic."

Keika moved up with trepidation. She took the stone from Hayate. She felt the icy cold from the seer stone. The freezing cold only lasted for a second before the stone started to heat up fast. The glacier blue swirled into a fiery orange. The stone was so hot and it soon ignited on the top. It was as if Keika was holding a ball of fire.

"Inferno magic?" Jaakobah said to Keika, "You're the Inferno Hero."

"Oh, I have fire magic?" Keika awed.

Prince Hazug suddenly let out a growl. The sudden turn in Prince Hazug's temper got everyone on edge. "All of you! Line up and reveal to us your power!"

The students wasted no time in lining up behind Keika. First up were Hayate's two close friends, Kaito Uechi and Takeru Tsukiji. They held the stone and the colour turned into a dull khaki with crumbs of dirt, indicating that they possessed earth magic and they were the Terra Heroes.

The rest of the girls that tended to flock around Hayate and his friends took their turn. There were three of them. The first girl, Asami Kawamoto, held the stone which turned into a navy blue and it even leaked water. Asami possessed aqua magic and she was the Maelstrom Hero. The other two girls, Amane Kaneko and Kanae Namari, got a solid grey from the stone, the crystal ball turned into a metal orb. It became so dense that the girls had trouble lifting it. They were the Metal Heroes with magic to conjure metal.

Afterwards, it was the gals' turn. Hikari Sakai, Kazuna Minami, and Erika Harada. They each took their turn to hold the orb, and each time it resulted in the orb glowing in a vibrant yellow, with sparks zapping about inside the ball. The gals had the lightning magic in them, they were the lightning heroes.

Next up were the athletes. Kouji Shiina, Gakuto Nakagawa, Yuuji Aoyama, and Yoshiki Iwata. The inside of the orb swirled in a cloudy white. The athletes were the Tempest Heroes, wielding the wind magic.

The otakus were next in line. Hisashi Mouri, Takahiro Inoue, Touya Hori, and Shinnosuke Ichihara. Theirs was purple with a dark hole in the middle. The otakus possessed the magic that enabled them to teleport.

The remaining students were the regular students. Seven students got a sparkling light green from the crystal ball, giving a soothing feeling from it. These seven obtained the healing magic, making them the Healers.

Now there were two remaining students. Yukina Yoshikawa and Sora Aikawa. Prince Hazug was back on his throne, tapping a finger on the handrest. He and Jaakobah watched with their patience growing thinner by the minute. So far, the seer stone was not showing the colour they were looking for.

Yukina Yoshikawa looked back at Sora before she timidly took the orb. The seer stone turned black, like an abyss.

"The revenant magic. She is the Spectre Hero. A necromancer." Jaakobah said.

"Last one." Prince Hazug pointed at Sora.

Sora took the orb and the black abyss turned into a deep crimson. Something leaked out of the orb. It rolled down Sora's hand and it dripped onto the carpet, staining it red.

"Ah!" Sora gasped and dropped the crystal ball. The ball instantly turned colourless again once it left Sora's hand.

"Blood magic. You're the Blood Hero." Jaakobah said and took the ball off the floor. It turned orange for a second in the mage's hand before it was colourless again as it rested on the cushion.

"How can this be?" Prince Hazug scowled. "Jaakobah."

The mage approached the prince and stood by his side.

"Where is the last one?" Prince Hazug whispered.

"There was no one else, my prince." Jaakobah bowed.

"No one else? Are you sure?" Prince Hazug narrowed his eyes at the mage.

"Yes, my prince. This is everyone that our summoning ritual took."

Prince Hazug frowned, "How can the last one be missing?"

"Perhaps it did not choose a host, and it remained in the aethereal void." Jaakobah suggested.

"Perhaps." Prince Hazug grumbled. He knew something was amiss, but he needed to bide his time for leverage.

He stood up from his seat and descended down to the students. "Heroes." He addressed the students, "I imagine you are all eager to learn the extent of your powers. But that will come later. It is time for you to be initiated into the Empire."

***

The entire hall was erupting with panic. The nobles and the guards on both sides of the royal courtroom were baying and squealing with dread.

"The enemy has the heroes!"

"How can this be!"

"King Baeolmar! I knew summoning the heroes would turn disastrous!"

Through their tirade, I stood there awkwardly. I didn't like how the nobles had been doing nothing but whining and complaining ever since I got here. It seemed that King Baeolmar shared my sentiment too.

"Enough!" King Baeolmar said to them. Silence returned in the hall, but the nobles' anxious looks stayed the same.

"Caius." King Baeolmar addressed his aide, a robed man standing by the side.

"My King." Caius stepped forward.

"Check on the whereabouts of Queen Saria, King Erik, and Queen Ashina. I wanted them here yesterday. The council must be underway already." King Baeolmar said.

"Yes, my King." Caius made his way to the exit in a brisk manner.

"The rest of you," King Baeolmar addressed the nobles. "You have seen Haruki already. Return to your cities and stay vigilant."

"Baeolmar!" One nobleman raised his voice. He noticeably omitted the title of 'King'. I took a look at who that nobleman was. This guy had a chubby face and a beer gut. His blonde hair was parted at the centre. His thick and luxurious robes seemed to be overcompensating. He had a thin moustache too. Why do I get the feeling he likes to twirl it?

"Delforen." King Baeolmar addressed him, clearly not pleased with the nobleman's tone.

"You expect us to be summoned here to the capital, just to see this boy and now you shoo us away like a parent to a child? This is not acceptable!" The nobleman, Delforen, pointed at me with a chubby finger. "We demand to participate in the royal council!"

"No, Delforen." King Baeolmar immediately shut him down. "That is not within your purview. You know this."

The noble's face puffed up and glared at me again for some reason. What the hell is your problem?

"Now return to your cities, and keep a vigilant eye." King Baeolmar repeated himself, sterner than before.

The nobles weren't exactly pleased being ordered like that, but they made their way out of the courtroom. Then, King Baeolmar turned his attention back to us and let out a wearied sigh. As for me, the worry churning inside hardly quelled. My classmates were taken by demons and goblins! I've read enough web novels and manga series to know how demons and goblins would treat human prisoners.

"Mobilise our scouts. Tell them to survey the movements of our enemies. We need to know their numbers, and where they will strike." King Baeolmar said to the knights in the room.

"Yes, my King." Everyone in the hall said in unison.

"King Baeolmar." I stepped forward.

"Haruki?" King Baeolmar faced me.

"We have to go rescue my classmates." I urged him.

"Patience, Haruki."

How could he just tell me to be patient? These are my classmates we're talking about here! "What are you talking about? My classmates are in danger! We have to rescue them!"

"Haruki! Be quiet, boy!" Ferilmah shushed me. "My apologies, King Baeolmar." He grabbed and pushed my head down, forcing a bow from me like my homeroom teacher would do the same to me before.

"Release him, Ferilmah." King Baeolmar ordered the Grand Wizard. He certainly knows how to take command with his tone. Ferilmah let go of my head and I straightened up.

King Baeolmar then said. "Haruki, I understand your worry. But the situation is far worse than we thought. The demon-goblin pact has your classmates. To the alliance, this means that the enemy has the power of the heroes, they can tip the scales in their favour. We need to plan our strategy before we can take any action. Charging straight into demon or goblin territory when we don't even know where the heroes are is a sure certainty of death. The best thing you can do for your classmates is cooperate with the alliance."

I froze in place, trying my best to calm down. King Baeolmar was right, I didn't even know where exactly my classmates were held captive. I made a small nod to King Baeolmar.

"Wizard Vensir." The king said to the other wizard in the room. "The seer stone."

"Yes, my King." Vensir bowed and exited the courtroom. Moments later, he returned with another crystal ball sitting on a cushion. Unlike the oracle stone, this crystal ball was colourless and transparent.

"Hero-sama." Vensir held out the ball to me.

"Huh?" I blurted, a little confused.

King Baeolmar stepped in. He took the ball from Vensir and it turned into metal! Actual metal! It looked like one of those shot-put metal balls used in sports.

"What the?!"

"Haruki," King Baeolmar began to explain, "This stone will show us what magic resides in you. In my case, I wield the elemental magic of metal. But the legendary heroes are hosts to raw elemental magic from the aethereal void. They have power far beyond any that we could muster."

So these people have magic too, just not to the same extent as 'heroes' as they call it.

"Haruki." King Baelmar held the metal ball to me. "Please reveal to us your magic."

"Uh, okay?" I took the ball from him. The metal ball turned back into its original colourless state. In a few seconds, the crystal ball turned into a shiny gold. The knights around me gasped in bewilderment.

"What is this?" I asked. None of them answered me, they stared at the golden ball with wonder. Even King Baeolmar and Ferilmah shared the astonished look everyone had.

The golden ball got brighter and brighter, I had to look away from the light. It was unbearably hot and the golden light illuminated the entire hall, shining like the Sun. It was too bright and I couldn't take it anymore.

"Dammit!" I dropped the ball. It rolled across the room and the golden light show immediately disappeared. "Sorry. Let me get that."

"That's okay. I will get it." Wizard Vensir said and retrieved the colourless crystal ball.

"The Solaris Magic." Ferilmah said.

"Huh?" I stood there looking clueless.

"There may be hope yet." King Baeolmar said. He looked as if a huge weight was taken off of his shoulders.

The knights in the room started singing praises to me.

"The Solaris Hero! Honour to you!"

"Such power! The cosmic flames!"

"Incredible! He's the Solaris Hero!"

I stepped away with my hands up in protest, "Wait, hold on. What are you all talking about?"

King Baeolmar put his hands on my shoulders. His grip was quite strong and tight, he definitely had muscles underneath those robes of his. He had a hopeful tone in his voice, "Haruki, you're the Solaris Hero."

"Okay?" I raised a brow.

"You wield the most powerful elemental magic of them all. The Solaris Magic. With this power here alongside us, the alliance can still have an advantage against the demons and goblins." King Baeolmar put a big emphasis on it.

I could almost hear the crickets in my head, the hopeful mood from everybody just went over my head. I was not sharing their optimism at all. I let out a croak. "Uh..."

"Do you understand how important this is, Haruki?" He shook my shoulders.

"Look," I rubbed the back of my head, "I don't know anything about this magic. All I know is that my classmates are in danger."

"Which makes you as the Solaris Hero all the more crucial. Because now, we know the alliance has a fighting chance." King Baeolmar pointed it out to me before addressing the Grand Wizard, "Ferilmah, tend to him. I need to prepare the council. We'll reconvene when the Kings and Queens of the alliance assemble."

"Haruki." Ferilmah said to me. "Come."

Soon after, the grand wizard led me out of the king's courtroom and we were back outside, walking across the courtyard. The breeze was quite cooling and the air smelt much fresher compared to the air of bustling cities that I was accustomed to.

"Haruki." Ferilmah cut in. "The Kingdom of Khorinus has stood for a thousand years. It endured the war against the demon-goblin pact five hundred years ago. Now, with this pact renewed, it must hold strong once more with the alliance of elves, dwarves, and fauna-folk. But with the new line of heroes held captive by the enemy, our chance of victory is now robbed from us."

We stopped by the edge of the courtyard. The scene of the mountain range in the far distance was like a painting made by a historical artist.

Ferilmah continued his story-telling, "The legendary heroes of old were more than just allies to the alliance five hundred years ago. They gave hope to the free lands. The heroes were paragons to the people of the alliance, and the greatest of them all was the Solaris Hero."

Ferilmah turned to me and put a hand on my shoulder just like King Baeolmar did earlier. "You must understand. Being the Solaris Hero means that everyone will count on you to be the beacon of light in the darkness."

If this guy was trying to get me excited about being the so-called greatest hero there is, it was not working at all. I mean seriously, this guy brought me here and expected me to fight an army?!

"Ferilmah," I tried to keep my cool, "Is there a way back?"

"A way back?" Ferilmah recoiled.

"Yeah, a way back to my world. You and your order of wizards brought me here. Can you send me back?"

Ferilmah averted from my eyes. He looked as if he wasn't anticipating this question. How could he not expect me to ask about a way to go back home?

"There is a way back, right?" I urged him. My agitation was getting the better of me and my voice was rising. "You guys decided to bring me and my classmates here without even asking. Now my classmates are in the hands of the so-called 'enemy', and you expect me to just go out there and fight?"

Ferilmah did not answer me which only added to the tension I felt. I dug into my pockets and pulled out my phone. The battery was ninety-eight percent. There were zero bars but I did not care, I began dialling on my phone.

"What are you doing? What is that?" Ferilmah asked but I didn't answer.

Bringing the phone to my ear, I waited for a ringing tone. But there was nothing. No ringing, no tone, not a recorded message to say that I couldn't get a signal.

"What are you doing?" Ferilmah asked again.

"I'm trying to call my parents. Or my school. Or the police. Or anyone." I answered, my pulse raised by this whole situation.

"Your parents?"

"Yeah," I said. I tried making another call. I was pacing back and forth, clenching a fist while I waited for any response. But silence was all I got again. "Dammit."

"Haruki," Ferilmah put his hand on my shoulder again and turned me around. He dipped his head, "I am woefully aware of how selfish this is. We've taken you away from your life to fight for people you do not know. If I were you, I'd share your fear. But we are in dire need of the heroes' aid. We did what we had to do for the sake of the good people of this world."

"Haruki Hoshino," Ferilmah looked me in the eye, "This is my promise to you. We, the Paremal Order of Wizards, spent our lives studying the aethereal void for the good of this kingdom. We will do everything we can to help you find a way back to your world." He then bowed to me, "Until then, I plead for your aid, Haruki Hoshino. Will you help the alliance? Will you help this world and its free people from the tyranny of the demon-goblin pact?"

As much as I did not like it, I had to take his offer. I didn't exactly have much of a choice either way. I had nowhere else to go in this world. These guys know about the summoning ritual so they were my best bet on getting back home. Plus, I needed to find my classmates. So, our interests aligned.

"I'll try." I sighed.

"Thank you, Haruki." Ferilmah bowed. "Truly, I thank you."