Chapter 16 Summoned Heroes

​ "Sung Hyeon," Noah said, calling his name.

The fictional character given life looked around, "What's going on here?"

"I've created you and given you life. I need you to be my 'sword' from here on out. That is an order," Noah said.

Through the fact he was the summoner and creator of the figure, he possessed unequivocal control over Sung Hyeon, giving him no choice but to comply. Still, there was something frightening about the one he'd summoned.

["Assess"]

[Sung Hyeon | Shadow King System]

[Level: 146]

[Strength: 15000]

[Constitution: 18000]

[Mana: 30000]

'No wonder I felt sick summoning him…His stats are above mine. It's as I theorized then; 'Sentience Bestowment' must connect an entity that exists in an alternate universe to a catalyst. It's not just a fictional creation…I'm summoning a living entity,' he deduced.

"I think I understand the situation. I can still return to my world, right?" Sung asked.

"Yeah," he answered, "I'm not trying to drag you under my control–I simply want an even exchange; when I need your help, I'll summon you, and in return, you can have anything you need from this world."

"Hm," Sung pondered for a moment, "I am intrigued, at least. Fine, then. As long as I'm interested, I'll help you."

More of the fictional beings came to life through the catalyst of figurines, possessing equivocal power of their forms that were kept only to pages of books before.

[Magical Girl, Aki from 'Aki Magicka']

A youthful girl dressed in a flowery, pink-and-white dress with hair that possessed that same, vibrant pink coloration, wielding a star-shaped wand and a smile brighter and more benevolent than any.

"Aki-Aki here to save the day!" The magical girl announced.

Though, as a subject to Noah, there was hardly any good to spread in the world.

[Lord Chief, "The Spartan" from 'Ring']

A space-marine dressed in futuristic, silver armor that sat far beyond the scope of modern technology in its capabilities. He stood well over two meters tall, remaining stoic and silent though ready for action.

[Marbas, "The Galaxy Sentinel" from 'Super Gunda Warriors']

A gundam that possessed a massive stature larger than a building, having to compress itself into a smaller, more condensed form; it had a humanoid shape though robotic in nature, made of black-and-gold steel. Its helm resembled a medieval knight's, though created of steel and humming tech that was incomprehensible to modern perception.

There were many other gundam, coming in various shapes and sizes, wielding massive cannons or intricate, colossal spears or swords, though each fell under the command of 'Baal.'

[King of Heroes from 'Destiny/Stay Night']

A prideful ruler and hero, summoned from fiction based on ancient epics, stood among those given life, dressed in exuberant, platinum armor that matched his slicked-back hair, wearing jeweled earrings.

"Oh? You have the gall to make a king your subordinate? I can't say I dislike your guts," The King of Heroes addressed Noah.

Getting in front of the platinum-armored man was Sung, who leaned his colorful greatsword on his shoulder.

"If you have a problem, you can take it up with me," Sung Hyeon said.

"Oh? Perhaps I will," The King of Heroes said as a platinum aura gave off from his position.

Though the inevitable quarrel was quelled as Noah clapped his hands, enacting his power as their master.

[Koichibi, "Icy-Hot" from 'My Heroic Academy]

Though the figure wasn't the protagonist of his story, he was Noah's favorite character from the shonen series–"My Heroic Academy"; the adolescent figure had half-azure hair and half-scarlet, wearing a black jumpsuit as his left side gave off a frost air, and his right side exuded heat.

"…A mansion? What a drag…" Koichibi muttered.

[Kazuya, The Fire Pillar from 'Demon Hunter']

A man with a vibrant mane of orange-and-red hair that resembled flames themselves stood with a beaming smile, dressed in a red-and-gold uniform with a white cap flowing behind him.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my comrades! Let us get along well in our endeavors!" Kazuya greeted everybody, speaking loudly as his scarlet irises gleamed.

By the katana sheathed at his hip, he was clearly from the Taisho period; a samurai renowned in his fictional world for his demon slaying prowess.

[Mirumu, "The Lord of Monsters" from 'That One Moment I Got Reincarnated As A Slime!']

Taking the form of a blue-haired, androgynous human, the sentient slime that possessed mystical abilities of great power finally came to life with a sigh, stretching their arms in their newfound body,

"Phew. Transported to another world again? I've got a real talent for this," Mirumu said.

Approaching Mirumu was the pink magical girl, who held a look of surprise and curiosity after watching the figure bounce between the form of an azure slime and a human.

"A slime…? How cute!" Aki squeezed.

Mirumu chuckled nervously, "Ah…thanks."

With that, the "generals" of his personal army of fictional characters were born, filling the courtyard with a sight that sat beyond dreams and illusion, now an unmistakable reality that made Noah's heart flutter with excitement.

"Where are the demons? Point me in the right direction, and I'll give them a taste of my steel!"

Announcing such with vigor, Kazuya unsheathed his katana with a smile, though he was only met with confusion from the others.

"Demons?…" Aki gripped her magical staff, "Are those a new form of Nightmares?"

Mirumu added in, "Demons aren't so bad, ya know? Let's just talk it out with them."

As he watched the fictional characters, now living people, talk among themselves, he realized they weren't given life with the same baseline understanding of the situation like Melly.

'I guess I fumbled bringing so many characters to life at once. Whatever, I can catch them up,' he thought.

"Welcome to the real world," Noah announced with a smile.

Though as he was excited to greet his favorite fictional characters come to life, as he spoke, he felt an overwhelming lightheadedness before his eyelids

grew heavy.

Around him, the courtyard seemed to be spinning as the trees were upside down for him; his balance faltered before he fell backward—losing consciousness not a moment after.

'Ah…I used too much mana today,' he realized.