"Gugyagagagagaga! Gugaaaa!!"
The Arachlaw bared its fangs at Yugo’s provocation, its hostility burning white-hot.
The Magic Armor Beast looked starving, radiating pure fury at the enemy interfering with its meal. Driven by that rage, the monster lunged with its sharp claws, but Yugo read the strike with ease. He unleashed a counter-flurry in kind.
"Ha! Hah! Teah!!"
"Gubegoo!?"
Yugo parried the blow, followed up with a right straight, drove an elbow home, and finished with a front kick that sent the creature skidding across the dirt.
Stunned that its own ambush had been turned against it, the Arachlaw struggled to its feet, its movements heavy with confusion.
"Incredible... I know it’s a low-tier beast, but to think he can dominate a Magic Armor Beast like this...!"
Presia watched Yugo in awe. His strength far exceeded her expectations.
Fee beamed with pride at the praise for his brother. Meanwhile, the Arachlaw decided that a head-on clash was a losing game. It resorted to its secondary weapon: silk webbing.
"Hiss! Shu!!"
"Ngh! Not on my watch!!"
Yugo stepped in front of Presia and the others, acting as a shield.
This was exactly what the monster wanted. It spat its silk in a cross-pattern, intending to pin Yugo's arms and render him helpless. Seeing the knight's arms successfully bound, the Arachlaw narrowed its eyes in a triumphant sneer... but?
"Oops. What are you looking so proud for? You really think this is enough to stop me?"
"Gyagii!?"
Crimson flames erupted from the silk binding Yugo’s arms.
He burned through the restraints in an instant and hammered a flame-shrouded fist into the Arachlaw’s face.
"Take that!"
"Gugyagi! Guh, gah!!"
With its silk countered, the Arachlaw was out of options.
Desperately seeking an opening, the beast swung its sharp claws one last time. Yugo manifested his Purple Armor to shut down the attempt entirely.
"Super Transformation! Hah!!"
"Gyapii!!"
Against the thick, heavy, iron-hard plating, the Arachlaw's prideful claws were useless. The tips snapped off against the armor's surface. The creature's will to fight finally shattered.
"Ah! Right! President, do you have a blade?! A kitchen knife, a dagger—anything! Lend it to me!"
"E-Eh?! I have one, but... hold on, give me a second!"
The battle was effectively over. All that was left was the finishing blow. Fee called out to Presia for a base material to forge a sword, but she was flustered, her kitchen tools securely packed away.
That was when Shiroi, the boy Yugo had saved, pulled a stone-made knife from his pocket and held it out to Fee.
"H-Hey... will this work?"
"It’s perfect! I’m borrowing this! Brother, catch!!"
Fee thanked Shiroi and threw the knife. Yugo caught the projectile mid-air, nodding to his brother and the boy. He willed the stone to morph into a powerful blade before turning back to his prey.
"Thanks, guys! Now, let’s wrap this up!"
"Guju...!?"
The Arachlaw recoiled, retreating step by step as the knight approached with his sword leveled.
Advancing steadily, Yugo triggered the new function Fee had installed. Flames roared along the length of the blade. He stepped into the beast's range and drove the tip deep into its abdomen, surging magic and fire directly into its vitals.
"Calamity Burn Crush!!"
"Gugyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
The Arachlaw let out a final, agonizing shriek as it was incinerated from the inside out.
Yugo wrenched the sword free and turned toward the boys just as the monster collapsed and vanished in a fiery explosion.
"We did it! You're amazing, Brother!"
"Well, it’s a trope that a Reborn Kaijin goes down easily. Besides, with the new function you added, there was no way I was going to lose."
Yugo canceled his transformation and ruffled his younger brother’s hair. He reverted the Black Iron Sword back into the stone knife and handed it back to Shiroi.
"Thank you. We couldn't have finished it without you. Here’s your knife back."
"U-Uh, yeah..."
Shiroi looked overwhelmed but clearly happy—a real hero had thanked him, and his own knife had been the weapon that saved the day.
Presia clapped her hands together with a relieved smile.
"It was a bit dangerous, but we’ve successfully secured the runaway. Let’s head back to the village!"
"About that, President. There’s something I need to tell you—"
Yugo stopped her, relaying what Shiroi had told him right before the monster attacked. Presia’s expression shifted from relief to bewilderment as she heard the boy’s testimony: he hadn't run away, and the villagers' story was a lie.
"We’re being... deceived? What do you mean?"
"I’m not entirely sure yet. But I have a bad feeling about handing Shiroi back to the villagers right now. I think we need to hear his side of the story first."
Presia nodded gravely, giving her consent. Yugo knelt down to Shiroi's eye level and looked the boy in the face.
"Shiroi, you said you didn't run away. Then why were you out here in the woods alone? Can you tell us what happened?"
"...I had to run away. Everyone... everyone went strange. Papa, Mama... everyone in the village! Without anyone noticing, they all turned into different people!"