"Wh-what...!? That voice... it can't be!"
A voice echoed through the Red Mist—a voice Melt had heard somewhere before.
While she gasped in surprise, there was someone else present who was even more shaken: the Toadstinger, the architect of this entire nightmare.
As the monster trembled and scrambled backward in terror, a black silhouette burst from the haze.
"Found you, you damn mushroom bee! What the hell is with that look? You look so pathetic I thought I was seeing things!"
"Pyugyaaa!"
Clad in his signature armor, Yugo pulled back his right arm and swung it down with everything he had, buryng his fist in the Toadstinger’s face. Watching the scene unfold, Melt let out a cry of pure joy.
"Yugo! You're safe!"
"Yeah, Melt! Sorry I'm late!"
Yugo hauled the dazed Toadstinger back onto its feet, hammered it with a flurry of punches, and then sent it flying with a heavy kick.
Melt jogged over to him, her heart swelling with relief. "Everyone who breathed in that Red Mist went out of their minds," she said, her voice trembling with curiosity. "How are you still yourself, Yugo?"
"Oh, that? It turns out the mist doesn't actually turn people. It’s just mushroom spores that cloud the mind. Once the victim is dazed and defenseless, that Magic Armor Beast stabs them with its needles to turn them into puppets. I breathed in a face-full of those spores myself, but thanks to the Blaster, those needles couldn't pierce my armor. That bastard actually did me a favor—he punched me out of frustration, and the impact snapped me right out of it. I’ve been chasing the coward ever since."
"I see! Regardless, I’m just so glad you’re okay, Yugo!"
The Toadstinger was a physically frail monster. Its needles lacked the necessary hardness to penetrate the Blaster’s plating, which was the only reason Yugo had escaped being added to its collection of puppets.
Yugo turned his attention back to the battlefield. "Melt, that mushroom is the root of all this chaos. If we take it down, the people under its control should snap out of it. My body has already built up a tolerance to its spores, so leave this one to me. Can I count on you to handle that crab bastard in exchange?"
"Yes! Leave it to me! Let’s show them what the Strongest Duo can really do!"
Melt, who had already identified her opponent's weaknesses, nodded with a confident smile. Beneath his helmet, Yugo grinned at the reliability of his partner. He tightened his fists, ready to end the fight.
"Let’s go, Melt!"
"Don't get careless, Yugo!"
The two of them lunged forward simultaneously, each engaging their respective targets.
Melt drove her Magic Power Sword, its edge honed to a razor-sharp limit, into the narrow gaps of the Crab Carapace. Every strike was calculated and precise.
Nearby, Yugo closed the distance in a flash. He launched a Flying Knee into the Toadstinger’s oversized head, sending the creature reeling.
"Sorry, but I’m not holding back! I won't let you ruin any more lives with those needles of yours!"
"Pigyeee!?"
He followed the knee strike with a sharp Elbow Strike and a thunderous Left Straight.
It was a flawless combination. As he sent the Toadstinger tumbling back with a Roundhouse Kick, Yugo roared with conviction.
However, the enemy wasn't finished. With a shrill, defiant shriek, the Toadstinger extended the long needles growing from the backs of its hands. It unleashed a frenzied rush of stabs, desperate to find a gap in Yugo's defense.
"Pigi! Gyu! Pigyue!"
"Hmph. So you're finally getting serious? Fine by me. Let’s go... Super Transformation!"
He couldn't afford to be reckless. Even if the needles hadn't pierced his armor before, the creature was desperate now. Yugo decided that defense was his top priority. The Blaster glowed with a brilliant purple light, and a set of heavy, reinforced plates materialized over his body—his Purple Armor, the Heavy Armor Form.
The transformation worked perfectly. When the Toadstinger’s needles struck the new plating, they didn't just fail to penetrate; the sheer density of the Purple Armor snapped the needles like twigs. The monster’s primary weapon was now utterly useless.
"Pigi!? Gyue!?"
"My turn. Hyaa!"
Though this form sacrificed speed, its raw power was devastating. Yugo drove a heavy fist into the Toadstinger’s face, sending the creature hurtling much further than his previous strikes.
The Toadstinger scrambled to its feet, swaying unsteadily. Its fighting spirit had completely evaporated. It turned tail and tried to scramble back into the mist, but Yugo wasn't about to let it escape.
"Grandma! Can I borrow this hatchet for a second?"
"Huh...?"
Yugo scooped up the Old Woman's hatchet, which had been tossed aside by the crab monster earlier.
The woman didn't quite understand the situation, but she saw the determination in the young man's eyes. She realized that her husband's keepsake could be the key to saving the village. She nodded vigorously and shouted with all her might.
"Take it! If my husband's hatchet can protect these children... use it as much as you need!"
"Thank you! Then I'll gladly... borrow your husband's strength!"
As the hatchet shifted form into a glowing sword of Magic Power, Yugo felt a brief flash of self-consciousness. This isn't exactly a typical Nichiasa development, he thought with a wry mental shrug. He shook off the meta-commentary and focused his energy into the blade, locking his sights on the fleeing Toadstinger.
"Time to finish this!"
With the pale blue light of the full moon silhouetting him, Yugo raised the blade high.
He swung in two swift, fluid motions—a Downward Vertical Slash followed by a Reverse Diagonal Slash. The dual strokes unleashed a massive, cross-shaped wave of energy that tore through the air toward the retreating monster.
"Mystic Break Edge!"
"Pyugieeee!?"
The sword of justice cut through the darkness, clearing the lingering mist as it struck the Toadstinger square in the back. The energy wave cleaved the creature’s body into four distinct pieces.
With one final, agonized shriek, the Magic Armor Beast was consumed by a flash of purple light and vanished in a massive explosion.
As the shockwave subsided, Yugo struck a heroic pose for the children and the Old Woman. Around them, the possessed Rioters began to collapse into heaps, the light of madness fading from their eyes.
"That should do it. The control is broken. Succor for the weak, judgment for the wicked! Behold my Chivalry! ...Though, actually—"
Yugo watched as the villagers began to stir, free from the curse. He was satisfied with the victory, but he knew the true hero of the night wasn't him.
He deactivated the Blaster and turned around. Melt was standing over the remains of the crab monster, which was currently crumbling into ash. She threw her hands up in a triumphant double-fist pump.
"I did it...! I really did it! I took down a Magic Armor Beast all on my own! Yes!"
Yugo watched her jump for joy, a proud smile crossing his face. She had stood her ground against her Fear, refused to abandon the villagers, and fought until the very end.
"Spoken like a true hero," Yugo whispered to himself. "Someone who never gives up, never breaks, and never falters... The title of Indomitable Knight belongs to Melt, not me."
With his partner’s victory secured, Yugo set off to help the villagers and begin the long task of cleaning up the aftermath.