Heroes

Archer, or his Majesty the Prince Hugoarna, stood in the open door of the dining room. His white, modest clothes blended with the background, but his presence was so powerful that it exuded majesty and strength throughout the room. The two servants standing by the door bowed deeply did not dare to raise their heads.

He was majestic and cold, and so wonderfully beautiful that all the irises looked like weeds. Hugoarno entered and the servants quickly and noiselessly closed the door behind him.

"Sorry, I ..." Zack began, but he was silenced with a slight raise of his hand.

Prince Hugoarno looked directly at Natalia. Under his stern, cold gaze, the blood in her veins began to freeze.

"Why is this woman eating dinner here?" he asked in a voice as cold as an arctic night.

But his ice was not scary, but alluring. Natalia knew that this man cannot be played with, yet she looked him straight in the eye and replied:

"Because I'm hungry?"

"You were about to go back to your world."

"Are you kidding? Do you think I eat such treats every day in my world? It's a roasted quail. Quail!" she repeated as if the word had a special meaning, and waved the bird at him.

"I thought you couldn't wait to get home."

"Because it was so," admitted Natalia. "But when I saw your world, when I felt the wind on my face, I thought I might be the only person in the world who has the ability to be here and see it all. I guess a few days won't hurt anyone? "

Hugoarno sat on the opposite side of the table and poured himself the juice of paradise apples.

"Your presence had no effect on the readings," Archer announced. "Your presence here will not hurt our world. But you need to know that time runs the same with us, even though we have different times of the day. "

"Right!" Zack admitted. " Natalia, what about your school? "

"What about her? Have you never been truant? Anyway, "she shrugged her shoulders," I'm a good student, I will catch up quickly, and I will probably never visit this world again, so I guess you understand. "

Hugoarno, although seemingly cold and inaccessible, was completely at ease at the table. He reached for an apple and after carving a particle out of it, he put it in his mouth.

"Zackocuki," he said suddenly, without taking his eyes off Natalia, "you were supposed to tell our guest why it's so bad to be me."

"Give me a break now," Zack groaned. "Sorry, okay? I didn't want to speak behind your back. You know I'm not a gossip but Natalia is from another world and ... "

"… And that's why you'll tell her now why I'm so unhappy. Though you may have said more than you should already. Sit down, Ulariye. Why are you still standing? "

The woman obeyed and immediately returned to her seat next to Natalia. Natalia herself, however, began to feel angry towards this arrogant prince. He may have been a prince, but who is he anyway? What is a prince better at than an ordinary man? Blue blood is a myth debunked ages ago!

"I don't want to," Natalia announced, definitely surprising everyone.

"What?" Hugoarno asked as if he did not believe his own ears.

"I don't want to hear it," she repeated. "Why should I hear about the misfortunes of someone else's life? You don't look like someone looking for mercy, on the contrary, you look like someone who wants nothing to do with pity, so why should I listen to any sad stories with you in the lead role? "

At that moment, something completely unexpected happened. Hugoarno began to laugh. It was strange, given that the situation was not laughable at all. Natalia glanced at Zack and Ulariye. They were both slightly confused but looked relieved.

Archer was laughing quite merrily, as if he hadn't had such a good time in days. Natalia realized that the man was laughing because of her, but somehow it didn't bother her. Hugoarno doesn't seem to have had too many reasons to laugh in his life, and his laughing face took on a new, radiant look.

"Tell me, Natalia, is everyone in your world so direct?" he asked when he stopped laughing.

"Not all," she admitted. Suddenly she blushed and added, "Neither do I. But here ... "

Hugoarno nodded.

"I would love to know more about your world, but my time is not mine. Zackocuki! "

The summoned man stood up immediately and, like an adjutant, stood at the side of the rising prince. Ulariye also started to get up, but Hugoarno made a gesture for her to stay. He bowed slightly to both women and they left.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Ulariye exhaled loudly. It seemed as if she had suddenly dropped a heavy burden.

"What happened?" Natalia asked.

"I don't know, really," she confessed. "All I know is that Hugoarno didn't come here for dinner. Ever since our dimensions began to intertwine, he and Zackocuki are responsible for the security of your world. If any magical animal makes its way between dimensions, the two of them go out to hunt it. "

Like that white lion, Natalia thought.

"You do not? You look like a fighter. "

"I am responsible for the security on this side," she replied.

Natalia imagined three friends fighting together to maintain order in two worlds and not to disturb the balance between them. Three superheroes with super powers. Two of them set off for another world action, while the third is left to defend their world.

"You like him very much, don't you?" Natalia asked suddenly, surprised by her boldness.

"I?" Ularije was confused. "Not at all," she assured a little too hastily. Maybe that's why Natalia decided she was lying?

***

Hugoarno's steps were swift, but his silhouette showed no trace of anxiety. A shiny half-armor appeared on his chest and a bow manifested in his left hand. He was fully operational before they left Ulariye's house.

"What this time?" Zackocuki asked.

"Rock dragon of the order of the Onyx family."

Zackocuki felt uneasy. The rock dragons were generally peaceful beasts, but in anger they became unpredictable dangerous. In an attack of fury, they were able to wipe the entire mining settlement off the face of the earth with one roar, with a single wave of their tail, cause a devastating earthquake with a radius of fifty kilometers. If this one belonged to the onyx group, it had an extremely hard shell and it would be difficult for them to deal with. Not that it was the first time, but that's why Zackocuki felt uneasy.

"Is your bow enough?" He asked.

"I made some modifications to my arrows. This time shouldn't be a problem. "

Zackocuki had no reason to distrust Hugoarno. The prince was not a vain man or overconfident. He was also able to perfectly assess his and the opponent's strength. If he said there shouldn't be a problem, it shouldn't be. But something might have gone wrong. Just like last time.

He also didn't wait for them to cross over. Zackocuki was powerful, but not like Hugoarno, so his black half-armor had to be more massive and heavier to provide him with the same protection. For a moment he wondered what weapon to use against this opponent and decided on an ax whose blade spun like a saw blade. He penetrated almost every body and bone like butter.

They didn't have to go to the tower to open the portal there. Hugoarno could do it anywhere and anytime, so he never sent people for Zackocuki, he always came for him alone. Now, too, it was enough for Hugoarno to think about the portal and the space in front of them lost their focus and they saw a patch of the other world, where a great, black beast was entwining around the stone pillar of the bridge, on which a train was approaching her.

"Get ready!" cried Hugoarno. "We're going straight for her!"

Zack didn't have time to reply. They both ran through the portal and began descending towards the rock dragon. Hugoarno drew the string but did not release the arrow. Zack could see the extra energy gathered into her. Finally the arrow flew towards the beast, causing a powerful explosion near its neck. The dragon roared painfully.

What a destructive force!

Zackocuki has yet to see such power in the hands of Hugoarno. It was as if the prince had reached a new level without his knowledge.

Zack broke through the smoke and slashed with his blade. Perhaps he was just finishing off the enemy, who was already mortally wounded, but the train was approaching quickly and the dragon's paw lying on the tracks threatened to derail. Zack turned once and twice and sliced ​​the dragon body to pieces at hurricane speed. The dragon began to descend into the river, and the train continued on the tracks as if nothing had happened.

Zackocuki returned to Hugoarno, who was just lowering his bow.

"We don't have to get the body back," said the Prince. "You hacked him up so well that he should decompose on his own within a day. Good job."

Hugoarno's praise genuinely pleased him. He looked with satisfaction at his ax, the blade visibly frayed.

"But I'll have to put this baby aside for now," he said. "She will have to recover calmly."

All they have to do now is return home victoriously.

"In life, I wouldn't have expected it to go so easily," Zack disbelieved. "Your strength today was immeasurable. How did you do it?"

Hugoarno, however, did not reply. He was heading towards the portal, but it was starting to lose focus strangely. Zackocuki looked more closely at his friend and suddenly he had a bad feeling. There was something wrong with him. Something was clearly wrong with him.

Then Hugoarno began to fall ...