The royal capital, Kingdom of Lumberg.
The giant door to the throne room creaked open, and four individuals strode into the dark chamber, their expressions grim and serious. These were the summoned heroes.
At the very front of the group was John, wearing his red cape around his shoulders, his golden spear held firmly in one hand.
At his side, Elsa stood, her blue pleated skirt clinging to her skin, leaving her thighs exposed while her chest was covered with light armor.
Behind the two, the other heroes remained; one was a blond-haired archer, and the other was a burly man who held a shield larger than anyone in the group.
After they reached the middle of the dark room, surrounded by pillars and long curtains covering the windows, they halted.
"Why did you summon us? We are not finished eradicating the demons to the west. Are you here to tell us to stop again?" John demanded, his tone arrogant and cold.
Seated on the throne, to whom John was referring, was the king of Lumberg, King Riez. At his side was the beautiful princess, Stella Riez. She wore a white dress, her blond hair braided and gathered in front of her, falling over her cleavage.
The king sighed before he thought of a response, as though this was a daily occurrence. "That is not why I have called you today, great hero," he said. "I wish to discuss the death of the other hero, the one said to be the servant of the Devil King."
John paused, a hint of fear flashing across his face before it twisted into anger. "What? Why are you asking me about that again? Didn't you say your people would find him and deliver the justice needed?"
"Yes, I did, but we have gotten no leads so far. If this demon is roaming my kingdom, I can't rest knowing my people are in danger."
Elsa spoke, wrapping her arm around John's. "And what is John supposed to do about that? Surely you don't expect the hero to go out looking for this creature? He is currently keeping the demons out of the kingdom; he doesn't have time for a search."
Before the king could speak, Princess Stella stepped forward slightly.
"We fully understand. You have done so much for this kingdom; it would be selfish of us to seek your help for every little inconvenience."
"Then why are you still insisting on involving me?" John frowned. "I already told you what happened. When I killed the brat, the Devil King appeared and almost killed me before it ran off. What more do you need from me?"
The princess was calm in contrast to her father, who seemed rather worked up.
"Yes, and using this information, we had a couple of our most trusted mages scan the entire county for any sign of dark energy that could be linked to the Devil King. So far, we've found just three. We are unable to identify which belongs to the entity, which is why we are asking for you to identify it for us."
It seemed as though John had calmed down a bit. He yanked his hand away from Elsa's grasp, shoving her away in the process. She found herself on the ground but got up just as quickly, a fake smile glued to her face.
"You should have just led with that. Sure, I'll point out the energy for you. But that is all I will be doing."
"I appreciate it."
Princess Stella bowed her head slightly. Then, clapping her hands, she summoned the mages into the throne room.
They walked out of a back door, all three of them, and in their hands, they carried small pillows with orbs stationed on them. Each of them stood before the hero, presenting the orbs for his inspection.
"All you have to do is place your hand on the orb, and you will get a feel of the energy. Please let us know if it matches the one you felt," one of the mages uttered.
John didn't hesitate to place his hand on the first. "Too tame and light."
He moved to the next. "Not this one either."
Then, he reached for the last one.
As soon as he made contact with the orb, the energy quickly overwhelmed all his senses. Pure darkness—that was all he saw. Or at least, initially.
In moments, his hearing faded, and his mouth remained agape as fear gripped his chest. Before him was a demon, her red eyes staring into his soul.
"No…" he muttered, trying to pull his hand from the orb, but his body refused to obey his command.
"No, no, no, no…" John continued to mutter, desperate to move away, the terror on his face obvious to everyone watching. They called out to him several times, but not once did he respond.
"Dammit, dammit!" John grew frantic, his body surging with power as his eyes grew even more helpless. "Why the hell is this happening? He had to die, damn it, it's not my fault!"
He kept his head down, knowing that if he were to raise it, he would see the demon looking back at him. But just then, he felt someone hold him…
The darkness cleared, and right in front of him stood the princess, a warm smile on her face, while he was sweating like a dying goat.
"Is this the one?" Stella asked.
Panting, John looked at the orb he had just touched and then glanced away in shame. "Yes… That's the one."
"Thank you," Stella smiled at him before letting go of his hand. Elsa, who was standing at the back, could not help but glare in anger as she watched.
As the princess walked back to the throne, she announced, "It's impossible to track the energy's exact location. However, we can predict where it may be through a vision, which is what we already did on all three energies." She stopped near her father. "Please let them know what you saw, Sir Siloan."
The mage who held the correct orb replied, "An elf, in Othword. She has ties to the one we seek."
One of the heroes spoke from the back, "An elf? Aren't they rare as hell?"
"Yes, they are," answered the king. "But my mages are never wrong, so if there is one in Othword, then we should start there. Which leads us to the next part…"
The king paused.
"Which of you brave heroes is willing to go on this quest? There is a reward, of course, for anyone who will choose to do this."