Marcos spoke dispassionately, displaying three raised fingers.
Belver’s expression soured for a moment at the declaration, but he immediately twisted his face into a mocking sneer and lunged forward.
"You're really looking down on me, aren't you?! Don't you regret this!"
Just as before, he charged in a straight line, funneling magic power into the Wasp Needle on his right arm.
Belver unleashed a full-strength thrust, a smirk playing on his lips as he felt the impact—only for his face to go pale when he realized the tip of the needle was being held firm by golden armor.
"…Fool. There is no reason I should be unable to stop an attack I know is coming."
Marcos snorted, having calmly caught Belver's full-power attack—a combination of a charge and a full-power Right Straight.
Upon closer inspection, he hadn't retreated a single step. He had taken Belver's attack head-on and remained completely motionless.
"Tch! You...!"
A flash of panic surfaced on Belver's face as his best effort was effortlessly brushed aside.
However, unable to accept that he was powerless against someone he had mocked so relentlessly, he continued his assault, masking his desperation with a layer of rage.
Punch after punch after punch... Belver repeatedly thrust forward, pouring magic power into the Wasp Needle, but every single strike was caught by Marcos's Giga Scissors. Far from dealing damage, he couldn't even manage to break his opponent's stance.
"Dammit! What the hell is with this toughness?!"
"It isn't that my defense is ironclad. It's simply that your attacks are pitiful. You have no speed, no weight behind your blows, and zero element of surprise... With such meager skills, I'm amazed you have the gall to look down on others."
From the perspective of Belver and his group, it was an utterly bizarre sight.
Belver was supposed to be the one launching a fierce, relentless assault, yet for some reason, he was the one being overwhelmed by Marcos, who was merely defending.
Even though Belver was the one stepping forward to strike, he was being backed into a corner, unable to do anything against that impenetrable defense. It was inexplicable.
"Why?! You were supposed to have been beaten in one hit by Scum Yugo! How can a weakling like you do this?!"
"That is the difference between one who continues to hone themselves to catch up to the back of their hero—no matter how painful it is, no matter how much they are ridiculed—and one who does not. Someone like you, whose only talent is looking down on others to feel secure, would never understand."
Noticing that Marcos had glanced toward Yugo and Misery as he spoke, Melt and the others realized his true intention for taking on this fight.
He wasn't just doing it to prevent his rival Yugo's name from being tarnished. He was also encouraging Misery, who was desperately trying to catch up to the person she admired just as he was. By showing her his own way of fighting, Marcos was sending her a silent cheer of support.
He was likely projecting himself onto Misery, who yearned for her great father and followed in his footsteps.
Though he would surely never admit it aloud, he, too, was one of those who yearned for the hero who had saved him.
"Hah...! Haa...! Haa...!"
"…You are quite out of breath. That is proof that your basic training is lacking. Since you have gone through the trouble of coming to the training grounds, why don't you polish yourself before meddling with others?"
"Dammit! Dammit...!!"
As sweat poured off him like a waterfall and his exhaustion became plain for all to see, Marcos threw those words at the panting Belver.
Unable to retort, Belver stripped the Wasp Needle—which he had stopped channeling magic power into—from his arm. He looked ready to spitefully hurl it against the ground, but Marcos grabbed his arm just before he could.
"…I suggest you do not take people for granted. That is Misery’s pride. It is not something a lowlife like you should handle so carelessly."
"Uugh...!?"
While Belver recoiled at the intimidating remark, Marcos quietly snatched the Wasp Needle from his hand.
Not even three minutes had passed since Belver first launched his attack. In fact, Marcos hadn't even unleashed a single move that could be called an offensive strike.
"Dammit...! To think... like this...!!"
He had been defeated without his opponent even raising a hand against him—the very opponent he had mocked for losing a duel in a single blow.
Ignoring Belver, who was crushed by the reality and trembling with humiliation, Marcos held out the reclaimed Wasp Needle to Misery.
"It is your magic item. I have successfully taken it back."
"T-Thank you very much...!"
"…Thanks, Marcos. You really helped us out."
"I have done nothing worthy of thanks... but being thanked by you does feel good! Thank me more! Fuhahahaha!"
He had been cool up until the very end, but hearing Marcos's boisterous laughter as he reverted to his true nature, Yugo and the others could only manage wry smiles at his anticlimactic behavior.
Still, they accepted it, thinking that this was exactly what made Marcos who he was. However, the one who couldn't stay silent was Belver—the man who had been defeated, or rather, hadn't even been taken seriously.
"Don't screw with me...! This wasn't my fault! That fight only went that way because I wasn't used to it and because I used that crap magic item! If I fought properly, I'd win!"
"Oh? Then bring a magic item you are used to using. I will face you anytime."
"Guh...!! A-Also, you've got nothing to do with this! The one I was dealing with was you, Misery! Aren't you ashamed to have someone else wipe your mess for you?!"
"…Is it just me who thinks it’s hilarious for a guy doing this to talk about shame?" Yugo asked.
"What a coincidence. I think so too," Melt added.
"You guys! Shut up!!"
After piling on one excuse after another, Belver picked a fight again with Misery, who seemed the most vulnerable.
While Yugo and Marcos offered perfectly logical retorts to the man who was making a fool of himself, Misery looked up and spoke.
"I... cannot stay silent when the Wasp Needle, which is filled with my pride, is mocked. I will not forgive you. I cannot forgive you...!!"
"Heh heh...! Then it's settled! One week from now, we'll have a duel with our pride on the line! Don't you dare run away!!"
As soon as he made that one-sided declaration, Belver and his cronies scurried away as fast as they could.
As Yugo mentally retorted, You're the one running away, Misery equipped the Wasp Needle Marcos had recovered onto her right arm and spoke.
"…I am sorry for making a mess and then acting on my own after you helped me. But I—"
"I know. You can't stay quiet when the magic item of the father you respect is mocked."
Misery’s shoulders trembled slightly at Yugo's words.
Gently patting her shoulder, Yugo looked straight into her eyes, nodded, and spoke quietly.
"…Let’s talk, just the two of us. I want to hear everything from you, Misery."