"Wh-what...?"
Yugo stripped the armaments—the Wasp Needle and the gauntlet—from Misery's arms, swapped their positions, and held them back out to her.
It was a complete reversal of her previous style of feinting with the left and piercing with the right. Instead, Yugo proposed an incredibly simple combat style where both the feints and the finishing blows would be handled by her left arm. Misery stared at him, stunned, but upon hearing the suggestion, Marcos looked impressed.
"I see. That is certainly a viable option. As she is now, Misery is in a halfway state where the firepower of her left is negligible and her right lacks the strength to finish the job. Neither arm is fulfilling its purpose. Shifting toward a style that fully leverages the speed of her left-handed strikes isn't a bad idea at all."
"But will that really solve everything? Even if I raise the power of my jabs until they can't be ignored, the fact that I lack finishing power remains the same..."
"Of course, we aren't stopping there. I’m going to build various tricks on top of this foundation. To make it work, Misery, you're going to have to work as hard as you possibly can. You’ll need to put in the effort to master a new way of fighting and then sharpen it. First, are you prepared to follow me through a week of hellish special training?"
"...Yes, of course! I’m in your care, Master!"
When Yugo tested her resolve once more, Misery gave a sharp nod, her eyes burning with determination.
Satisfied with her answer, Yugo turned back to his other companions.
"I’m going to need everyone's help for this. Unlike me, who does everything by feel, Melt actually understands how to manipulate magic power, so I want her to give advice. I’ll likely have things to ask Fee, too, since he’s so knowledgeable. Depending on how things go, I might even ask Ann to modify her magic items... and I'd like Marcos to act as a practice partner."
"Understood! Leave it to me!"
"Everyone, thank you so much...!"
Melt thumped her chest as she accepted Yugo's request, and the others nodded in turn.
As Misery expressed her gratitude to the people offering their strength, Hex tentatively raised his hand, his expression twitching with anxiety.
"Um, Yugo-san? Am I... useless here? Is there nothing for me to do besides gather information...?"
Since he was the only one whose name hadn't been mentioned, Hex looked genuinely worried. Yugo gave a wry smile and waved it off.
"It’s not like that. I have a job for you too, Hex. But I won't need it until a week from now, so I want you to get ready in the meantime."
"What kind of job!? Hey, Yugo! Stop being so cryptic and just tell me!"
Hex’s cry of frustration echoed across the training grounds as he reacted to Yugo’s oddly secretive behavior.
And so, with a clear direction found, the group began Misery's special training—though one member was still left hanging.
"Hmm... As expected of My Hero. This is just impossible, isn't it?"
At that same moment, Lost watched the exchange from afar, muttering with an air of resignation.
He gazed at the figures of Yugo and Misery shimmering within his crystal ball and let out a sigh—though he wore a strangely entertained smile.
"I was planning to agitate Misery-chan’s negative emotions and turn her into a fine Magic Armor Beast... but just like with Marcos-kun, the darkness of her heart has been purified. The very premise of the plan has collapsed. There’s no salvaging this one."
Lost clutched a card with Misery's face on it in his left hand and an object resembling a giant bee stinger in his right. He spoke as if trying to convince himself before glancing up.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the card aside. It disintegrated into mist before it even hit the ground.
"The plan is ruined, but I still have this thing I prepared for it. It would be a waste to just throw it away... but then again, I can't exactly give it to the other side. That guy is a total weakling. I can only see a future where he wastes it..."
Having abandoned his attempt to corrupt Misery, Lost seemed to be debating what to do with the stinger he’d prepared for her.
He had considered simply handing it over to her opponent, Belver, but given the boy’s actual skill level, he decided it would be a pointless expenditure. He began searching for another move.
After pondering for a while, he realized an answer wouldn't come easily. He tucked the stinger into his robes and whispered to himself.
"...Well, I suppose watching how things play out for a bit longer won't hurt. Wasting this by rushing would be the real shame. Besides, Protagonist-kun and his friends are about to start something interesting again."
With that, Lost vanished from the spot.
Having temporarily withdrawn from direct intervention, he returned to his role as a spectator, eagerly anticipating the moves his favorite Hero and those other heroes would make during the upcoming event.