"I believe you've made a tiny mistake, my royal sister Beatrice. The heroes summoned through the spell left behind by the four legendary heroes would undoubtedly be the bravest of their world."
To the left of the emperor, a man dressed in white spoke with his eyes closed. His hair color resembled those of the princess, with elegance and classiness radiating around that slender yet fit figure.
"Your brother is right, Beatrice. The heroes brought here by fate would in no way be spineless cowards that escape reality. However, your words have indeed brought my attention to one that seems different from the rest."
The voice of the emperor sounded as his eyes landed on Freyr, who also happened to be looking at him.
Just the short moment they exchanged eye contacts, Freyr could already feel a suffocating force that pressed down on him. It was similar to the dangerous vibe that came off from Dwark, but something much more terrifying.
'So this is how it feels to be in a room with an emperor...those mangas really did their job well describing the pressure.'
A bead of sweat trickled down the neck of Freyr as the corners of his lips rose slightly in excitement.
Turning to look at Damian and the others, he realized he wasn't the only one withstanding the invisible force, as their shoulders seemed to be frozen in place after stiffening.
A few seconds forward, the invisible force disappeared. The emperor stood up from his seat immediately afterwards, followed by the royal siblings that accompanied their father from behind.
"Welcome to the Phoenix Empire, esteemed heroes from another world. I apologize for testing your strengths earlier, but I just couldn't withhold the excitement of dueling with heroes such as yourselves."
"Your highness! You musn't do such a thing just yet. According to the ancient books found in the palace's library, their physique are yet comparable to the warriors of our world, not to mention great generals of war like you."
Hearing that the emperor wanted to compete with the heroes, Dwark immediately stepped out to stop him, afraid that the empire's valuable hope would be lost after 15 minutes arriving in their world.
"I understand that as well, Royal Mage Dwark. That's why I've apologized for testing them earlier."
Replying to Dwark's concern for the heroes' safety, the emperor turned back to them as his continued speaking.
"Allow me to make a formal introduction, I am Creon, the 25th Emperor of the Phoenix Empire. As well as the direct descendant of the lineage of the hero titled Phoenix in the legends. I'm sure my retainer Dwark has already told you about them, no?"
"Indeed so, Your highness. Ah, my name's Freyr. This dude behind me is Damian."
Stepping forward, Freyr responded to Creon's greetings, also giving the newly-made friend a hand in case the guy was still distracted by the king's test earlier.
Feeling flustered by Freyr's sudden assist of introduction, Damian could only bow as a sign of respect. The king nodded in response as his gaze moved to the other three, who were exchanging looks amongst themselves.
In the end, a blond guy stepped out. His casual black shirt and fashionly torn blue jeans was a stark contrast with the medieval theme throne room they were in. Well, not like the heroes themselves weren't an anomaly.
"Well uh, my name's James. age 19 and uh...that's all." James said as he scratched the back of his head.
Following up, was a rather ordinary looking uncle that works in corporate.
"Pardon my late introductions, Your highness. My name is Kai. Unlike the teenagers here, I'm starting to approach the end of my golden youth. There's nothing much about me to be shared but I look forward to my future spent in this empire."
"Hmm, I look forward to having you as the empire's crucial force as well." Creon responded.
In the end, everyone's eyes landed on the last hero who has yet to introduce himself.
Overgrown hair, black clothes, headphones around his neck, and eye bags that seem darker than the night without lights on. Still, even with his facial characteristics mostly covered by his hair, it was easy to tell,
'The dude's freaking handsome!' Freyr exclaimed inwardly.
'But why isn't he saying anything. Could he be an introvert? That does seem possible, with the shut-in vibe around him.'
Just as Kai was about to help the poor guy out, he pointed at his mouth before waving repeatedly at them.
The emperor seemed confused by the meaning behind such action, but the heroes who were summoned naturally understood them
"Your highness, this kid isn't talking due to being a...mute." Kai spoke as his eyebrows twitched for a second.
Immediately after saying so, the throne room fell into a silent state that even a pin drop, on the red carpet, could be heard. Dwark who stood behind Creon had his mouth wide opened, while Creon himself was so stunned that his mind looked like it wasn't with him.
Seeing that things turned awkward, the boy took out his phone as he started typing words in it. Once he was done, he tapped Kai's shoulders before passing the phone to him, which Kai proceeded to read out.
"My name's Luke. Like I've mentioned, I'm a mute so I can only communicate through hand signs or typing on this phone. If there's nothing going on, I prefer to be left alone with books....is what he said."
"Ahem! I understand, Hero Luke. I will respect your wishes and grant you access to the palace's library for as along as you stay as the empire's hero. At the same time, the royal mages and royal medics will work to find a way to allow you to speak."
Promising Luke with benefits of being a hero of the empire, Creon shifted his gaze to all five of them.
"Like you've heard in the story told by Dwark, the evil power that reign the world with its terror ended up surrendering itself towards the mighty spells and formations of the four heroes of the past."
"Civilizations were rebuilt as empires came to exist, but the story doesn't end there."
"Beneath the ground that we humans live on, seals the evil power that is threatening to destroy our world every second that it's alive."
"The forces of this world alone is no match against it. Therefore, the summoning ritual was conducted, to bring forth the fated ones from another world that inherits the skill of our ancestors."
"You are the empire's-No, you are humanity's hope."
"As one of the emperor of the five empires on this continent, Creon, I hereby ask you. Hero Freyr, Hero Damian, Hero James, Hero Kai and Hero Luke, can we entrust the fate of this world and the task of eliminating an universal threat, in your hands?"