Kain and Alexis sat in their throne room in Necrograd. Before them was Lord Wolfenstein who was, as usual, refusing to bend the knee. It was not only Kain and Alexis, but practically everyone in Europa had felt the surge of magic that had announced the arrival of the new ‘Heroes’, and as such it was impossible to clamp down on the rumors. There were already talks among the populace of revolting once the Heroes came a knocking. This simply would not do, but the information Lord Wolfenstein brought alleviated some of Kain’s concerns.

First off, the number summoned was nowhere near that which had been brought to this world previously. Second, their powers were mediocre at best. Lastly, although some of them intended to work together, they all appeared to have the intention to only trust each other as far as they could be thrown. The Heroes were not truly united and were far weaker than anticipated.

So, despite the hype, they were not anything near the threat level that the 1000 Heroes of Old had been.

“Are you certain that would be a good idea? We know where they are and how weak they are, so would it not be better to crush this threat before it has a chance to grow?”

Alexis was the one most adamant that the Heroes should be killed off early, but LW was giving a compelling case himself.

“While that would normally be a good idea, my good lady, these kids are simply too impotent to provide enough of a threat to you. I would strongly advise that you wait until all of the malcontents are in one spot. Wait for them to gather, then end them all at once. This isn’t a nice and fun romp in a standard isekai world for them. They do not work well together, come from different time periods and nations, and have radically different goals.”

Kain stroked his chin at LW’s argument. He did have a point. With all this disquiet brought about by the arrival of the Heroes, letting them grow would serve to draw out the rebels and dissidents and focus them into one area. After that, the Heroes could be crushed quite easily.

“I understand your logic,” Alexis countered, “but the last time we let them grow in strength it cost us dearly.”

Lord Wolfenstein shrugged.

“Well, I have a good reason to believe that they are not a great enough threat. Their powers, even after a good training montage or two, are incomparably weaker than the 1000 from the past. The one they call ‘The Second Coming of the Living Ice Age’ can barely drop the temperature to 0 degrees fahrenheit.”

Piotr’s undead ears perked up at the mention of the new Hero. Did this idiot truly believe that they were as good as he was?

“So, why go pay them a visit?” Kain asked. “Why show them the depth of their foe when they are incapable of dealing with it?”

LW merely stated the following, “Because then they will desperately try to get stronger, thus making the final confrontation that much more enjoyable to the readers of this novel.”

“Excuse me?” Kain asked. “Readers of this novel?”

“What? Did I say something like that? No, I said ‘it will make it that much more enjoyable to the readers of the history books.’”

Both monarchs were not convinced by LW’s attempt to divert their attention from his Freudian slip. But, they did admit that they wanted to see just how impotent these Heroes were. A short visit to scout the competition wouldn’t hurt. Based on the descriptions given about their powers, neither expected much in the form of dangerous retaliation. As soon as the events for the day were settled, Kain and Alexis made their preparations for a visit to the nation of Ititlis.

…

Wakanda was busy tinkering with his power. He had sorted out that it allowed him to effectively break the laws of reality by creating matter and energy at will. The downside was that he could not destroy what he created. Currently he could only generate single element objects, such as 100% pure iron or the various types of pure carbon. He figured that, even if he was booted from here, he could make a killing selling diamonds and other materials. People always needed raw materials, and if he needed to, he could simply mass produce copper, silver, gold and platinum to make a quick buck.

“Hey, ******!”

Fuck, it was Kevin.

“What is it, Kevin?”

“Don’t talk like that to me, boy! Know your place!”

“I do.” Wakanda shot back. “It is above you. You can’t use your most powerful ability without sacrifice, and I can make anything I want (within limitations). You need me to provide offerings for that ‘Fuck Everything Gun’ of yours. If I don’t willingly transfer things to your ownership, you can’t use it without harming yourself. Or would you rather sacrifice the cheap prostitutes they gave you to help with training?”

Kevin ground his teeth and threw an undisciplined punch.

“Idiot.” Wakanda muttered as he caught the fist and spun Kevin around. The idiot landed on the ground at a rough angle and tumbled down a hill. Wakanda looked down at him as he rose to his feet with a smirk on his face. “I swear, you all are getting dumber by the day. We won’t be able to defeat the Darksol Empire if we don’t work together. Stop trying to push everyone around and realize you aren’t the center of the world. We are all in this together, in life and death.”

Kevin let out a yell and ran up the hill towards Wakanda while brandishing his ‘FEG’. However, his attention and that of everyone’s in the monastery ceased to be focused on the fight between the two Heroes and was now focused towards the two massive magical auras closing in at incredible speed.

“Lumina protect us….”

The words of one of the nuns as she fell to her knees and started praying let Wakanda know that what was coming was damn near unbeatable. The aura given off was leagues greater than Kevin’s, and there were two of them!

“Damn it.” He cursed. “Looks like they are coming to end us before we can even be a threat.”

“Who?!” Kevin yelled, but the bearers of the auras had already arrived.

“Who indeed?” A booming and oppressive voice came from the male. Wakanda stared at the massive figure and realized how woefully outmatched everyone here was.

“You! Who the fuck are you?!”

Kevin then turned to the vampiress and yelled something about her needing a true man like him in her life, but that merely elicited a death glare from the woman.

“Kevin. This is not a good time for that…” Wakanda tried to warn him, but…

“FUCK YOU, ******! Hey, you damn bastard! Come down here and face me like a man!”

The black armored man with a skeletal crown looked at Kevin with a mix of pity and disgust.

“I don’t suppose you are able to fly, are you? Maybe then you could come up here and face me like a God?”

Shots fired.

“Kevin. Don’t do anything stu-.”

Wakanda did not get to finish his sentence before Kevin fired several times with his ‘FEG’. He must have really lost his cool, because all the shots missed. That did not stop Kevin from spraying and praying, shooting round after round from his Mega Pistol with reckless abandon.

The tall armored man sighed and shook his head before vanishing.

“HA! Serves you right you stuck up bastard! You just got erased from reali-!”

The man reappeared and drove his armored fist into Kevin’s 15-year-old stomach. It wasn’t enough to kill him, nor was it enough to mortally wound him, but the force was certainly enough to make Kevin fall to the ground and curl up like a baby, letting out a pained whine before passing out from the shock.

“Disappointing.” The man said before turning his attention to Wakanda.

“Look, I didn’t get brought here of my own accord. I don’t have an ability that is combat oriented. I understand you are going to kill us to keep us from getting stronger, but just do me the favor of making it quick and painless.” Wakanda said, fully accepting his fate.

A smile crossed the large man’s face.

“Kill you here and now? Who said I was going to do that? Who said that We were going to do that? No. We came here to see how powerful you were, and I must say I am very disappointed in everyone’s capabilities.” he said, gesturing at the other Heroes who had passed out due to the oppressive force the two monarchs gave off. “The 1000 that came so long before you were so much stronger. Even the weakest of the non-combat Heroes could provide something decent, but so far only one of you ‘Heroes’ shows any real promise. If that specific person learns how to use their ability properly, they could actually be worthy of being compared to one of the 1000.”

The man looked down at Kevin and gave him a slight kick.

“Not this fool, though.”

Wakanda looked at the man and then at the vampiress that floated in the air and back to the man.

“So, this is just a wake-up call?”

The man laughed and replied, “I am glad you realize that. We just came here to show you what you will be up against. I strongly advise you to train a bit harder, or just abandon your mission altogether. Just know; even if you die, that isn’t the end. Death is only an escape from this world, for it will send you back where and when you came from.”

The man lifted off into the air and chuckled ominously before he asked a question.

“May I have the name of the only one here to actually keep their shit together in our presence and be the voice of reason in a time of danger?”

“Wakanda T’challa Jones.”

“….. Seriously?”

Wakanda nodded sorrowfully.

“Well, we all have our circumstances… Good luck getting stronger. I will send someone to check up on you all from time to time to see how you are progressing. Although, there is someone else who will be showing up as well, occasionally and of their own accord. Do grow stronger and realize the mess you were dragged into has only a handful of ways out. I sincerely wish we meet again, Mr. Jones. But let it be under better circumstances next time.”

The two rulers of Darksol started to leave, but the man turned back and said the following before breaking the sound barrier as he sped off.

“My name is Kain Anathemas Nekronus von Darksol. I applaud your bravery in the face of oblivion. See you around.”

As the two monsters vanished into the distance, Wakanda’s strength finally gave way and he collapsed on the ground. Looking around, he noticed that everyone else had passed out due to the overwhelming auras of the two dark rulers. The whole area now stank of urine and feces, but Wakanda was just glad he survived.

“So, only one of us can match the potential of one of the 1000?” He asked aloud. He did not know who it was that had such promise, but he would double down on his research and observations to find out. The next time he would meet that person, Kain, he would be better prepared. If what Kain had said was true and death sent you back home, he had to work harder than ever before.

He did not want to go back home anytime soon.