A brilliant light flashed from a singular point within the darkness. An earsplitting roar could be heard as a monstrosity writhed, no, the darkness itself writhed in pain and anguish. The ground shook as the pitch-black castle began to crumble upon itself. Even in its fall, the castle still gave off a menacing aura.

Outside of the castle, the sounds of a ferocious battle ensued. The screams of the dying and the battlecries of the warriors clashed even as the armaments and towers collapsed around them, crushing many of the fighters to death.

Within the heart of the castle, tucked away in a throne room was a young man with long dark hair and a cloak swaying from the aftershocks of the blast. He was covered in wounds, bleeding from multiple orifices, yet he still had a ferocious look of defiance. He was in a thrusting pose, piercing the swirling darkness with a sword that shined brighter than the sun. His eyes were closed and his teeth gritted as he bravely fought against the dying screeches of his foe.

The light slowly died out and the scream came to an end. The man gave a slight smile before crumbling on the ground, exhausted from his fight and injuries. A dull thud could be heard as his body smacked against the stone floor.

He laid there for an indefinite amount of time.

Then there were the sounds of feet pounding against the floor. Voices could be heard and somewhere, a door creaked open.

"Hero-sama!" "Hero-dono!" "Master!"

Several voices cried out. The first to arrive was a blonde-haired elf who was dressed in a long dark-green cloak that failed to hide her impressive bust. She cried out in surprise at the sight of the man lying against the floor and choked back a sob as she fell to her knees.

The next was a knight. The knight was covered from head to toe in bulky white armor and brandished a sword as she charged in. Her helmet was cracked such that her long, wavy hair flowed out. She was bleeding from a cut on her face and her sword was broken beyond repair yet she still raced in upon hearing the scream of her companion. She too had a look of despair when she saw the man.

The last one to enter was a bonafide dragon. It literally crashed through the ceiling and roared in grief and sorrow when it saw the broken body of its master. It transformed with a blinding flash into a dark-skinned woman with tears pouring down her face. She rushed over to the man and cradled his head on the leathery skin of her lap. Her tail pounded against the floor as she saw how grievously injured he was.

The man's eyes fluttered and all three of them gasped in surprise and amazement. He coughed a bit of blood as he stared at the faces of his comrades-in-arms. He whispered words that were barely audible.

"It's...finally over."

The dragon took the man by the hands and continued weeping as she sensed her spiritual connection with him dissolve. She could feel his life force slowly fade away. His grip slackened and his hand fell back on the ground. He had finally stopped breathing for good.

The broken room was filled with the sobs of three destitute women.

–––––––––––––––

Yuki Takahashi woke up with a start.

While lifting his head, it connected with something hard, making him wince and grab his head in pain. His eyes quickly opened.

"The demon lord!"

He spun widely around, on guard. He visibly started when he realized just where he was.

"Wasn't I back at the castle? Is this one of his illusion attacks?"

Yuki was lying down on a park bench. The object that had met his forehead was none other than the armrest. Not too far away, he could see the pole of a streetlight faintly illuminating his surroundings. There was no sound of battle, flesh-rending, or death wails. The only thing he could hear was crickets.

It felt oddly peaceful. Yuki was still wary. This could be a mental attack designed to trip up his guard and sneak past his defenses! He reached towards his hip, for his trusty Holy Sword, but only grasped at thin air.

"As expected of the demon lord! Only he'd have the intelligence to strip my weapons while I was in the process of entering the dreamstate! But he can't have suppressed my magic! Saint's Burning Cross!"

He got into a pose with his arms out. Unfortunately, the magic circle he was expecting to appear didn't appear. Instead, a couple walking on the path was looking at him with a mixture of mirth and confusion. He overheard the man whispering.

"Chuuni..."

He didn't turn red from embarrassment. Rather he was just confused. "How can this be? My strongest holy-type attack can't be summoned?"

He decided to run for a nearby water source. Maybe he'd be able to call upon Undine, one of his summons! He dove for the pond that was conveniently nearby but froze in shock at the reflection staring back at him, distorted in the moonlight.

It was him. Three years ago. He was younger and had none of the scars or wounds he had gotten over his journey as a hero. In fact, he looked exactly the same as when he was first summoned.

"No way..."

Tears filled his eyes. "Am I really home?"

Yuki couldn't believe it. After all this time, he was finally able to return? He calmed down and reasoned that there was no way a demon lord could suppress the holy-type attribute. The only logical explanation was that he had returned home and back in time!

He remembered the faces of his companions and felt saddened at the thought of never seeing them again. "I would've at least released Kuro from her master-servant pact..." Still staring at the reflection, he reminisced about all the people he had met. He was about to turn away and find his way back to his old home when the ground started glowing.

It was a magic circle! How? He thought magic didn't work here! Had he been wrong this whole time! Was this actually the demon lord's ploy? Fear gripped his heart for the first time. He wasn't a hero right now! He was just a student with no magic and no holy sword! He braced himself for the arrival of his archnemesis when several women appeared.

Eh? Yuki tilted his head and something in his brain turned off. These women, didn't they look rather familiar?

They came into view and Yuki nearly stumbled backward into the pond. Standing before him was an elf, a knight, and a woman with a tail.