Now, it was Yugo's turn to be stunned by Neries’s declaration.
Even as she stood on the precipice of disaster, hunted by the Magic Armor Beast, her voice didn't waver. Yugo was at a loss for words until Neries continued.
"This situation is clearly bizarre! It’s gone way beyond the scope of an exam! If this is supposed to be a test of my judgment... Yugo-san! Take off those bracelets and fight at full power! I’ll buy you the time you need!"
Yugo had suspected as much himself. Something was wrong. Neries had come to the same conclusion and was now demanding he rid himself of the bracelets that crippled him.
Removing them wasn't simple. To shed the magic-sealed restraints, Yugo had to deactivate Blaster and leave himself completely defenseless. It had been an impossible risk while under fire from the Mail Beetle, but with Neries acting as a decoy, it was finally feasible.
And yet, it meant leaving her in mortal peril.
If this wasn't part of the exam—if a genuine emergency was unfolding—then the danger was even greater.
Should he trust her plan, or should he move to protect her?
As Yugo wavered, Neries’s voice cut through his hesitation like a blade.
"You said you’d trust me and follow my lead, didn't you?! Then believe in me! I’ll be fine!!"
Yugo’s spine straightened at her unwavering conviction.
Even as she darted away from the Mail Beetle’s strikes, her eyes never left his. She screamed at the top of her lungs.
"I’m entrusting my life to you, Yugo-san!! Get those bracelets off, now!!"
"...Fine! Just buy me a moment, Neries!"
Feeling the weight of her resolve—the very words he had once spoken to her thrown back with such force—Yugo made his decision.
He deactivated Blaster. Grabbing the bracelets around his wrists, he strained against the magical resistance, pulling at the metal with everything he had.
While he struggled, Neries fought a desperate battle for survival.
"Hah! Ngh! Eek!!"
"Juraaa...!!"
Her movements lacked the fluid grace of Yugo or Misery. She looked anything but stylish, stumbling and scrambling through the dirt, but she was surviving. Bolstered by her own Agility-enhancing Magic, she kept the sluggish Mail Beetle from pinning her down, narrowly escaping every lunge.
I can do this! I've been watching its movements from behind Yugo-san... I can read its patterns! If I can just keep this up—!
Neries had spent hours watching Yugo and the others train. Compared to them, the Mail Beetle’s movements felt slow, almost sluggish. Because she had focused so intently on the beast while shouting instructions to Yugo earlier, its attack patterns were burned into her mind.
She could do this. She could hold the line.
But just as she resolved to keep moving, her knees buckled. She collapsed onto the ground, her legs refusing to respond.
"Wait... what...?"
She tried to scramble up, only to realize her lungs were burning and her limbs felt like lead.
The Mail Beetle didn't miss the opening. It unleashed a crushing blow that Neries barely avoided by rolling through the dust. Trapped on the ground and unable to find the strength to stand, she let out a bitter, self-deprecating whisper.
"I got... ahead of myself... I’m such an idiot..."
She had the clarity to see through the enemy’s attacks and the magic to boost her speed, but she couldn't cheat nature. She lacked stamina. Unlike her front-line companions, Neries was a support mage; she wasn't conditioned for the grueling, high-intensity exertion of close-quarters combat.
Adrenaline and duty had carried her this far, but she had finally hit the wall.
Gasping for air and drenched in sweat, she watched as the Mail Beetle loomed over her.
"...I really should have trained more."
The beast raised its sword-like limb. Neries squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the end, but instead of a lethal blow, a sharp clang of metal on metal rang out.
"Hey. Eyes on me, monster."
"Ju...!?"
Startled, Neries opened her eyes to see the Mail Beetle spinning around toward the voice.
In the next heartbeat, a heavy hook shot out from the shadows, slamming into the Magic Armor Beast and sending it crashing into the dirt. As the dust cleared, Yugo stood tall, and Neries’s face lit up with relief.
"Yugo-san!!"
"Sorry to keep you waiting. But thanks to you, the bracelets are history."
Yugo held up his bare wrists before pointing to the metal restraints lying discarded on the ground. Neries realized the metallic sound she’d heard was Yugo hurling the bracelets at the monster to draw its attention.
"Thanks," he said, looking back at her. "You really saved me... Hero."
"Ah...!!"
Her eyes widened. She knew those words were the highest praise he could offer.
After acknowledging the girl who had risked everything for him, Yugo turned his focus back to the Mail Beetle as it scrambled to its feet.
"Now then... it’s my turn. I can’t afford to look bad in front of the Hero who just saved my life."
"Ju, raaa...!!"
The Mail Beetle let out a low, guttural groan, its eyes burning with hatred for the man who had caused it so much grief.
Yugo summoned his armor once more. Staring down the enemy, he let out a low, dangerous growl.
"I’m going all out now. Try and stop me!"