The next day, after being woken up by one of the maids and taken to the king, Finn was met with a line of people who seemed to be adventurers. He didn't fully understand why they were here so he waited for the king to explain.
"Young hero, I hope you have rested well. Word has spread around the capital of your summoning and these fine adventurers have answered the call to join your party." The king gestured to the line of people, most wearing some form of armour or robe like the people who summoned Finn.
"Hold on a minute, you said we would be joining a hero's party, not the party of a brat." One of the people in line, a man wearing knight armour, spoke to the king in rage. "Where the hell is the hero!"
"Now, now, Sir Ironheart, this young lad is the hero and you would do well to mind your tone in my presence." King Aldric tried to calm the man down, but others in the line were also agreeing with Ironheart.
"You would have us serve a child!"
"What nonsense is this!"
"Bring out the real hero!"
*BANG*
The loud sound of an explosion silenced the entire room, causing everyone to turn towards the cause. Finn held his weapon above his head, the barrel smoking after taking a shot. His eyes were covered by his hair though, his mouth formed into a frown.
"I don't believe I'll be needing any party members your majesty." Finn did a curt bow to the king before turning and beginning to walk out of the room. "Send someone to my room and have them bring a map, food, money and any information on the outside world."
The adventurers in the room were stunned for a moment, before they gnashed their teeth in anger. Ironheart, the man who had shouted his outrage first, raised his hand and started chanting something.
"Why you little! As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and-" Before Ironheart could finish his chant though another *Bang* was heard and a hole appeared in Ironheart's chest. The man looked down and stared at the hole before coughing up blood and falling to his knees.
Ironheart gave one last look to Finn, seeing him pointing his gun at him before Finn gave the gun a quick spin and holstered it. When Ironheart collapsed, the other adventurers moved to inspect the body.
"He's… dead." The other adventurers all looked at Finn in terror, no longer seeing a kid, but a monster in his place. Even the king was looking at Finn in a different light, not expecting the lack of hesitation from the young boy in front of him.
"Forgive me your majesty, I never got around to introducing myself. My name is Finn, Guardian of the last city on Earth, wielder of the Light and member of the Vanguard fireteam. I have been alive for nearly 100 years and have been taught from the best guardians from my world. I will not be looked down upon."
The declaration that Finn had been alive for nearly 100 years shook the adventurers to their cores, how could someone who looked like a 12-year-old boy actually be a century old? There was just no way something like that could happen.
"If anyone else has a problem with my decision then feel free to speak now." The amount of bloodlust that was being exuded by his small body was enough to make everyone in the room question if they were in danger. When no one spoke up, the pressure let up and Finn put a smile on his face once again. "Cool, I'll be in my room. Make sure to get that map to me quick."
As the boy left, the entire room let out a collective sigh. The king was the first to recover, taking a handkerchief and wiping the sweat from his brow before ordering one of his servants to fetch the requested items.
Back with Finn, he sat down on his bed once again and waited. There wasn't much else he could do besides think while he waited for items he requested, and think he did, back to one of the first things that Zavala taught him when he first patrolled the streets of the city to ensure they were safe and to reassure the people.
"You must always be confident in yourself, any decision you make, any action you take will always be final. No matter the decision, stand by it and watch as everything falls into place… or falls apart." It was one of his better lessons, all things considered.
Finn smiled at the memory, happy that Zavala had taught him about being confident in himself and how it had come in handy over the years. His reminiscing was interrupted though with a knock at the door.
"Sir hero, I've brought the requested items." A young voice spoke from the other side of the door, making Finn stand and open it. On the other side stood a girl, about the same age as Finn's body holding a couple of sacks in one hand and a book in the other. The girl had fluffy ears and a bushy tail that reminded him of another breed of dog. "Sir hero?"
"Right, sorry, you can place them down inside." Finn stepped aside while rubbing the back of his head, allowing the girl into his room. She placed the items down before doing a quick bow and leaving.
Finn moved over to the book first, wanting to understand what's happening in the outside world first. Opening the book, the first thing he noticed… he couldn't understand a single word. He dropped his head to the table, not caring for the pain it brought him.
"Do you want me to translate it for you?" Luna appeared, hovering over Finn's head and looking at the book. Her blue eye moved from side to side as she read the words on the page and began deciphering the book into a language that Finn was familiar with.
"Please." Finn raised his head, once again looking at the book which had now been converted to English by Luna for him. "Let's see, the country of Melromarc is recovering from the wave, the queen of Melromarc is attending a summit for something, ah, because Melromarc summoned all four Cardinal Heroes."
Finn continued to read, and found that most of the information was related to Melromarc in some way. After a couple more minutes of reading he found something that caused him to re-read the section and question if the translation Luna gave was accurate.
"Uh, are you sure this is what this says? There's no way the Shield Hero would try to sexually assault his party member, right?" Finn really wanted this to be false, if for no other reason than so he wouldn't have to work with a rapist in the future.
"I'm certain that this is the translation, though if the information is accurate, I wouldn't be able to tell you without meeting this Shield Hero in person." Luna floated above Finn's head as she read the information as well, trying to find anything that would discredit it.
"Guess that's what we'll do first then. We'll make our way to Melromarc, get our answers and kill some monsters along the way." Finn made up his mind and grabbed the two sacks that were lying by the desk, hoisting them up onto his shoulder and making his way for the door.
He passed some guards in the hall as he made his way to the exit, not bothered in the slightest about the quivering the guards were doing when he came closer to them. The walk to the exit was swift, not taking more than a few minutes.
When Finn exited the castle that he was summoned in he was met with the sight of the castle town, a bustling hive of activity where people with animalistic features were walking all around. Finn took a deep breath before equipping his helmet, the Celestial Nighthawk, before walking through the streets of the town.
Instantly, his figure combined with his strange helmet was met with curious glances from passerby's, some even questioned him if he was lost. He didn't find it annoying, in fact, he found it quite helpful when they pointed him in the direction of the gates.
But that helpfulness stopped when he arrived at the gate. The guards on duty began questioning him where his parents were, laughing when he said that he was heading to Melromarc. Some even tried to drag him back inside the city to find his parents, but they quickly stopped after he twisted the mans arm and dragged him to the ground.
"Listen, I've been alive longer than even your grandparents have, I don't need any of you patronizing me because of my size. Now open the gates and let me through." Finn let the guard go and they instantly ran to the lever that would open the gate. Seconds later and the door was opened, Finn walking through and waving his hand behind him.