**One month earlier…**  

— Welcome, Court Drones, — said the Queen, her voice echoing like a divine decree.  

— The twenty heroes chosen to protect this kingdom.  

The entire hall fell silent.  

The atmosphere was dense, as if the very air was about to shatter.  

— You have been summoned in our darkest hour. The Demon King’s forces, led by his nine divine generals, march to destroy Magnapis and everything we defend.  

Magical images appeared in the air.  

Villages in flames.  

Grotesque monsters devouring everything.  

Gigantic figures surrounded by dark auras — the nine Generals.  

— Each of them is a living calamity, — the Queen continued.  

— Only you, the Court Drones, can face them.  

Souta watched in silence.  

Around him, the other heroes reacted with shock, fervor, fear.  

But he…  

He only thought.  

He touched his hands.  

Felt vigor.  

Strength.  

Youth.  

At thirty-nine, he should have been dead.  

Run over.  

Forgotten.  

— They summoned me at the exact moment before I was hit by that car… — he thought.  

— This is a second chance.  

For a moment, he smiled.  

A genuine smile.  

— Well… if that’s the case… I don’t mind giving them a little help.  

**Present…**  

Cold chains.  

Damp stones.  

Silence.  

Souta is in the dungeon.  

Alone.  

Chained.  

Suspicious.  

Abandoned.  

— At least that’s what I thought…  

— Before being thrown here for trying to save this world.  

Then… what should I destroy first, Creamy?  

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