I looked on as the blackness continued to spread up her arm. It had already reached her elbow, I continued trying to heal her, but was having no effect on it.

“What do you mean? What’s happening?” I asked in a panic.

“You can’t help her. No one can now.” Lillia spoke up this time.

“What?”

“Her relic has been destroyed. Her body is decaying, it won’t be long before she is gone.” She explained.

“No! Why? She was only just brought here and there’s no way she has already done something to set the guild against her.” I shouted.

The tips of her fingers where the blackness first began, now started to disintegrate. They turned into a grey dust and blew away on the wind. The process spread up her arms and in towards her body from each of her limbs. She had already lost her legs up to the knees. At least she never regained consciousness after she passed out. Another minute later and there was nothing left of the woman. I deactivated “Special heal” and stood up.

“What just happened?” I asked coldly, as I tried to make sense of the events.

“What I just said… Her relic, it was destroyed.” Lillia replied.

“Why would they do that?”

“I don’t know… There isn’t always a reason. Sometimes, especially with a first summons if they don’t look like they have any potential as a hero, they do this. That is if the summoner requests it.” She elaborated.

“The bastards! How dare they.”

“Theo, you need to calm down.” Serin pleaded.

“I won’t let them get away with doing this…”

“Theo, I understand how you feel, but you can’t say things like that. Not out here and not now. For all we know someone is observing her and us. You could be next, please!”

Serin grabbed my shaking hands and pulled me towards her, then wrapped her arms around me. I fell silent. I knew, she was right. I couldn’t draw that kind of attention to myself, not unless I wanted to end up just like that woman did. I just couldn’t quell the anger inside of me. I had known for some time that this was what happened here, that it could happen to me. We are brought here against our will, used as disposable weapons and discarded on a whim. I hadn’t been angered when it seemed like it had only happened to me, and I was always having fun or being distracted. But, when I saw someone’s life snuffed out like that in front of my eyes, for no apparent reason it brought it all home to me.

“We should leave. Perhaps we should head back to the guild for now, somewhere we can talk?” Serin suggested.

“Yes… Let’s get out of here, before we make a scene.” Agreed Lillia.

Serin stopped hugging me and led me by the hand. We all headed back in the direction of the guild, including Siofra. I was quiet the entire way. I was too afraid that if I started speaking, I would end up losing my temper. It wasn’t just the danger. I didn’t want to say something to the girls, that I would regret later. Lillia and Altria hadn’t explained it completely to me, but I knew there was something that compelled them to keep summoning at the request of the guild.

I knew that neither of them agreed with what was happening here. They were both doing what they could to fight against it, but right now I couldn’t help but blame them. I decided not to speak until I had calmed down somewhat. They were both trying their best to hide it, but I could see that they were just as shocked and upset by what we had just witnessed, as any members of the party.

It took us a while to walk back to the guild and by the time we had made it all the way back to our room, I was feeling a little more composed. I was still upset with what I had seen, but I could think clearly enough, not to worry about what I was going to say. I sat on my bed and looked at Altria and Lillia. Everyone else was just sort of trying to stay out of the way and not make eye contact or get involved.

“You can’t stop summoning, even if you wanted to. Why is that?” I asked the pair.

“That’s what you wanted to ask?” Lillia sounded surprised.

“Yeah.”

“You didn’t want to know if we could have stopped that from happening?”

“You couldn’t though, could you?”

“No, the guild will eliminate a hero at the summoners request. They can only summon one at a time after all. If someone tried to intervene it would only cause trouble.”

“I thought as much… But about what I asked?”

“We have no choice, well that’s not entirely true. We could stop summoning any time we wished, but we would have to face the consequences.”

“What would that be?”

“You saw the ritual. That stone they implanted, the shard. If a summoner is unable or refuses to continue, then the shard is retrieved for the next person selected for the role.”

“Removed, you mean…”

“They cut it out of you. Most of the time, the summoner is already dead when this happens, but there have been a few times when someone has become unable to complete the task any longer and even fewer examples when someone has refused it.”

“But they would be okay, surely it could be healed?”

“The lucky ones die there and then. The unlucky ones live on for a while…” Altria interrupted.

“It’s just as Altria said. Most die, the ones that don’t have a fate worse than death… The wound is beyond healing. Using the shard to summon draws the stone into the nervous system, each time it increases the tangle. It’s difficult to remove it without killing the summoner and impossible to so without causing serious lasting damage.” Lillia explained weakly, while exchanging glances with Altria.

I had the feeling that they both had experienced this happening to someone that was close to them. Probably the person that came before them.

“Before you, who was the previous summoner?”

“My elder sister… She didn’t die, but she hasn’t spoken or moved from her bed since the shard was removed. It would have been kinder if she had, rather than being stuck in that state forever.” Lillia explained.

“Mine was my aunt. She became sick and was unable to summon anymore. She was however fortunate enough to die during the removal process. Her suffering was limited.” Altria told me.

When they knew what the outcome of taking on the summoning role was, I had to wonder why they had accepted it at all… I could only guess that they likely had no choice in the matter. The role was considered a privilege. They were probably groomed for the position their entire lives. I doubt that they once considered not summoning, not until the reality of it dawned on them. Probably only after they had already become a summoner.

The whole thing appeared to have been designed to have locked them into the task. The initiation ritual was only completed once they had summoned someone here. They couldn’t be that desperate for another hero that they needed to do it then. They definitely didn’t treat the person that was brought here like they were necessary. No, they probably did it, so the fresh summoner didn’t think about their actions, not until it was their life on the line if they wanted to rethink.

“Look Theo, neither of us agree with what’s going on. If we could stop it, we would.” Lillia said a little nervously.

“She's right. If we could stop the whole thing, we would.” Altria chimed in as well.

“I know, I’m not angry with you two. I don’t blame you for what’s happened or what you’ve had to do. It’s not like you had a choice and when you knew the consequences it was already too late… It’s just after seeing what happened during the ritual, how they treated that woman then discarded her life like it was nothing. It made me angry. It’s the people behind this…”

“I’m sure they have their reasons too…” Serin cut in.

“I know, defeating the demon lord, right?”

“Yes.”

“But why does it need to be a hero? Why someone brought here from another world. It doesn’t make sense. All of you are stronger than I am. How would someone like me have any chance of defeating them, if it isn’t possible for you?”

“I don’t know the answer to that either… I’m not trying to defend their actions. I just can’t believe there isn’t a reason behind all of this. They can’t be doing this just because they feel like it.” Serin answered awkwardly.

“The end doesn’t justify the means.”

“I know, I don’t think that either.”