The Great Warrior has two goals.
To overthrow the Empire, and to fall at the hands of a beastkin hero.
As long as either one is achieved, Vidar will be satisfied.
Because his purpose, in the end, is for his own people, the process doesn’t matter.
Vidar’s opponent was Ariel.
But her chances of winning were slim.
Given that even Olga Hermod and Tronius Ether were defeated, there’s no way Ariel who only just became an Archmage could possibly beat the Great Warrior.
No matter how weakened he may be, how could she defeat Vidar, who had been preparing to bring down the Emperor?
“Seeing it like this… you really are a bunch of misfits.”
“Ahaha.”
Even though I gathered them because they belong to the same group, their personalities are way too distinct.
A prophet with a bedsheet over her head.
A swordmaster with black hair like a shonen protagonist.
A handsome holy knight who seems like he’d make a great friend, and a merchant operating in the Empire’s underbelly.
“Don’t leave me out.”
“You’re filling in for Emily.”
Emily would be risky.
She was already technically a criminal, but if Stan found out I dragged her into something like this, he would foam at the mouth.
So instead, I reluctantly called her older sister Cattleya.
She’s been a criminal for a long time, so involving her in something like this isn’t a problem.
“But…”
As I looked over this bunch of Misfits, I realized someone was missing.
“Where’s Melana?”
“Big sister Melana said she wasn’t feeling well, so she’s resting.”
“Ah, I see.”
Melana seemed to be paying the full price for using black magic.
This is why shortcuts are dangerous.
I learned that painfully myself today. Since she’s a black mage unlike me, she won’t even be able to receive Helena’s treatment, so it’s best to just let her rest.
“Alright, before we get into the plan, let’s take a moment to check what each of you can do.”
“Senior, I have a question.”
“Yeah, Dietrich. Go ahead.”
“Since when have I been part of this group of misfits?”
“Since the moment you got involved with me.”
“Ah.”
Honestly, it feels so obvious now.
Or… is it? I guess it’s a fair question.
Come to think of it, the first ones I ever called misfits were only Melana and Jeff.
These two weren’t included then.
“Alright, Dietrich. From here on out, you can assume that anyone who gets tangled up with me and, for one reason or another, has their life fall apart and ends up living on the run. Those are all misfits.”
“Then does that include Senior Monia as well?”
“That’s what I’m going with.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“Anyone else have questions?”
I waited politely, but no one asked anything further.
Good. Now we can finally move on.
“Dietrich.”
“Yes, senior.”
“Can you use holy power?”
This plan hinges on him.
It all depends on the abilities of Dietrich, who had been marked as a holy knight of Eden.
Ariel looked up at the Great Warrior who seemed three times her size and quietly removed her hat.
She usually tried to hide the fact that she was a beastkin, but today, she had to reveal everything.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Then let’s begin.”
Vidar nodded solemnly… only to break into a fierce grin as he stomped the ground.
Booooom!!
A massive boom echoed across the area.
Ariel was thrown into the air like a floating leaf, but she didn’t panic and calmly remained suspended in midair.
“Fwahahahahahaha!!”
A thunderous roar, loud enough to burst eardrums.
Ariel realized that Vidar’s laughter was meant to be heard.
No matter the outcome, he truly wanted her to become a hero.
If that was the case, she would simply respond in kind.
Ariel blocked the fist that Vidar hurled toward her.
“This is incredible!”
Vidar was honestly surprised. A power unlike any magic he had ever seen.
A force that embodied pure physical strength.
“The output and precision are on a completely different level compared to last time.”
Telekinesis.
Until now, Ariel had used it to restrain or suppress her opponents. But now, she had gained the ability to wield “strength” itself.
There was no longer any need for the tedious process of building barriers.
“Hiyah!”
“Huh….”
Ariel grabbed the arm of the Great Warrior and flung him into the air.
Seeing Ariel casually toss an arm as big as her own torso even made Vidar let out a short laugh.
Swaaash!!
An absurd result for such a feeble-sounding battle cry.
Ariel hurled Vidar clear out of the capital’s borders in one go.
The speed and power were no joke. Vidar had to consciously stabilize his body midair.
Craaaack!!
Vidar crash-landed, tearing up the paved road beneath him.
He remained silent for a moment, then slowly lifted his head with a delighted smile.
“……”
There were people nearby.
Judging by how they were clustered around a small group of knights, it seemed they were survivors banding together for safety.
They couldn’t even scream.
They simply held their breath at the sight of this disaster that had fallen from the sky.
“Just in time. I was getting thirsty.”
Vidar’s words rang out clearly.
They didn’t yet understand what he meant by that, but…
“P-Please, spare us!”
Vidar lifted the knight who had pointed a spear at him by the torso, and that was all it took for them to understand.
The barbarians were monsters who fed on human flesh and blood. That belief was widespread even within the Empire.
Terror spread rapidly.
The fear Vidar deliberately created swept through the surroundings in an instant.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
And all of it was for the sake of the hero who would one day defeat him.
As Ariel flew toward him with her staff aimed, Vidar casually hurled the knight in his hand in her direction.
“Haha!”
Booooom!!
Lightning burst from the tip of Ariel’s staff.
Vividly visible, unmistakable violence.
Yet it was a spell meant purely to kill.
“Hmph!”
Fzzzzzzzzzzzt!
Vidar tore through the descending lightning with his bare hands.
He wanted Ariel to defeat him and become a hero, but that didn’t mean he would go down easily.
For those who trusted and followed him.
For the ones who, like him, had turned their backs on civilization and donned the mask of a barbarian….for those pilgrims, he had to give it his all.
Boom!
Spells and fists clashed repeatedly.
Vidar shattered Ariel’s diverse magic using nothing but the raw power embedded in his body.
He dashed across the battlefield, either chasing Ariel or evading her pursuit to gain distance.
He hurled boulders and destroyed buildings.
Making it known to all: he was here.
“Ahahaha!! That power….it’s just as I hoped, Ariel Aether!”
“……”
“But no more than that.”
Thud!
When Vidar added a spin to his punch and threw it, Ariel was sent flying far into the distance, unable to withstand the sheer force behind it.
Even though she wielded a power close to pure physical strength, she still couldn’t surpass Vidar’s might.
At best, she was only now standing on equal footing with him.
“Kh….”
Ariel winced at the blow she had failed to fully block.
Her opponent had been taking her attacks barehanded, yet even as she consumed mana, she still couldn’t completely fend off Vidar’s strikes.
At this rate, defeat was inevitable.
“Tch…”
Swallowing the blood that had pooled in her mouth, Ariel lifted her head.
This wouldn’t do.
She had to create a variable. Anything to shift the tide.
It was at that moment—
“Well now, who might this be?”
“….…?”
Someone suspicious appeared, wearing a clown mask.
“…What on earth are you doing here, Johan?”
“Oh, you’ll see soon enough.”
Ariel was thrown off.
What was with that mask?
No, she knew what it was.
It was the costume of a fictional group of Misfits centered around “Safe Clown”.
Why is he only wearing a matching outfit with Yuna…?
Maybe it was the blow to the head from the Great Warrior, but Ariel found herself thinking something strange.
In truth, she was tense.
Not because of the battle with the Great Warrior, but because of the battlefield of love.
Back when she was traveling to transport Johan and ran into Yuna…
The moment Ariel saw Yuna’s face, she had been overwhelmed by the aura she gave off.
She knew Yuna liked Johan, but she hadn’t imagined she’d been so worried about him that she’d become so pale and worn out.
That was why, upon seeing her like that, Ariel had felt a pang of shame.
It was because it made her feel like her love was somehow less than Yuna’s.
Of course, she had her own excuses.
She hadn’t even known Johan had been kidnapped until she was already on her way back—
And she was able to reach him quickly.
So there had been no reason for her to wander around and waste away like Yuna had.
“Ariel, there’s no need to worry.”
“Johan…”
Ariel nodded, moved by Johan’s voice that seemed to put all her anxieties to rest.
“We’re actually really good at this kind of setup.”
“…Huh?”
“Just watch. I’ll be helping from the sidelines, so you can relax and focus on giving it your all in the fight.”
Ariel tilted her head, puzzled.
But Johan, as if he hadn’t noticed her confusion, gave her a confident thumbs-up and quietly slipped away.
And it wasn’t long before Ariel figured out what he had meant by “setup”.
“Thank you so much for helping us!”
“Hey, look! The one fighting that brutal barbarian….wait, isn’t that Lady Ariel?!”
“She’s standing up to that monster with such a delicate frame… what a true heroine.”
“You idiot! Is ‘heroine’ even the right word here?”
“W-Was it not?”
“……”
While fighting the Great Warrior, Ariel kept shifting her position.
A battle meant to be seen.
Because that’s what the Great Warrior wanted, she went along with it willingly, but…
Th-this is too much pressure!
There were far more cheers and praise directed at her than before.
Johan’s so-called “setup” meant planting people among the refugees to loudly sing her praises.
“Kwahahaha! How ridiculous!”
Vidar genuinely seemed to find it funny.
He wasn’t laughing at Ariel, but at the situation itself. He was clutching his stomach as he burst into laughter.
“Hmm, fine. This is fun. Really fun.”
Even Vidar had no reason to object to this kind of manipulation.
Thanks to it, he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the battle.
“Urgh!”
And that carefree mindset only became a heavier burden for Ariel.
A difference in mentality—
That alone was enough for Vidar to be fighting even better than before.
For the first time in a while, Ariel found herself thinking Johan was a damn fence-sitter.
But of course, Johan hadn’t planned to simply manipulate public opinion.
“I’ll support you, Young Lady!”
“Hmm?”
Vidar spotted a knight charging at him.
His movements were awkward, like someone who’d go down in a single hit—
Yet something about him felt off.
“Hyaah!”
“What’s this supposed to be now?”
Vidar could sense a faint trace of holy power on the knight’s sword.
Had it been anyone else, they might not have even realized he was a paladin.
And that this opponent was far more skilled than he appeared.
“Hrgh!”
“Gah!”
Vidar immediately struck Dietrich as he rushed in.
As expected, the man was quite capable—
He managed to withstand the blow and retreat without suffering serious injury.
“Hmph.”
Not only that, he even managed to leave a small scratch on Vidar’s body.
Amused by the unexpected appearance of a skilled warrior,
Vidar grinned, all the while wondering just what Johan was planning.
“What is he thinking?”
The opponent was strong.
But he fell without even showing half of his true skill.
It was inefficient or foolish, even.
“Young lady Ariel! I will aid you!”
And so, Vidar kept seeing that paladin recklessly charge at him, again and again.
It was unbearably annoying.
The holy power wasn’t all that threatening—
But the swordsmanship was the real issue.
And for some reason, his outfit and speech kept changing every time he charged in.
Are they trying to wear me down bit by bit?
At that point, Vidar realized something else.
He had only received a small scratch.
But his opponent should’ve taken significant damage—
Yet each time they charged again, they appeared fully recovered.
It was strange.
A healer must be nearby. Unlike that paladin, they must be quite skilled.
A ploy to slowly wear him down.
Absurd as it was, it was a viable tactic—
If this turned into a drawn-out fight.
If it did.
“Sorry, but I don’t plan to play along with such an obvious trick.”
Whooooosh!
Vidar braced himself.
He was about to unleash the same ferocious blow he’d once used to shake off Lobelia’s interference.
“Hrrgh!”
He had long since estimated the limit of strength Ariel could handle at once.
She wouldn’t be able to block this one.
Booooooooooooom!!
A deafening explosion rang out.
The blast and shockwave tore through the area with such force.
That everyone in the capital could feel it.
Dust billowed through the air.
And there was Ariel unable to fully withstand Vidar’s power, coughing up blood.
Tatatat!
Vidar whose eyes were quietly closed sensed someone approaching him.
They were moving stealthily, but there was one thing that simply couldn’t be hidden:
The killing intent channeled into sword energy—
A presence that must exist if one truly meant to kill.
Even the faint trace of holy power couldn’t be concealed.
“…I won’t be falling for such clumsy tricks any longer.”
Vidar immediately turned his body toward the approaching enemy.
He aimed to strike at a gap the opponent hadn’t yet noticed and bring him down.
To kill in a single blow so they would never recover and return.
If he showed the same clumsy form as in the previous ambush, there would be no escape.
And the moment Vidar twisted his body—
“This is…”
He realized it wasn’t the black-haired boy who had charged at him earlier, but someone else.
“……”
He couldn’t withdraw his attack.
Whoever it was, just approaching through this fog was enough to confirm they were an enemy.
But the opponent raised a shield, as if expecting this very move.
The divine power he sensed wasn’t infused into sword energy meant to strike him,
But rather into a barrier meant to defend against his blow.
Thud!
Vidar’s heavy strike slammed into the shield laced with holy power.
“Guh!”
The boy who ambushed Vidar, Jeff, couldn’t fully withstand the overwhelming force.
He flew back, bleeding, into the air.
But he hadn’t been killed.
As if he had been tasked with guarding from the very start,
The boy held off Vidar’s attack despite the immense gap between them.
“Hah.”
At that moment, Vidar realized it.
Everything up to now had been leading to this very instant.
“Johan Damus…!”
Still locked in the posture of swinging his fist,
Vidar felt something graze past his waist.
A chilling presence.
A clear sword wound.
“You’re certainly proving to be a nuisance.”
The black-haired boy who had been charging in foolishly from the start…
His true strength wasn’t holy power.
Rather, it was his sword, freed from the shackles of divinity, that carved an indelible “trace” like the venom of a viper.
“Khmm.”
Soon, the dust began to clear, revealing Ariel with a resolute expression.
And at that very moment…
“This is quite troublesome.”
It was the moment he first began to consider the possibility of defeat.
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