"Ugh...!"
Drowning under the suffocating pressure radiating from Ryuga and the others, Cyan could do nothing but choke back his words.
There was no way he could honestly admit to sabotaging Neries's exam. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his face twisting in desperate agitation—but his reaction spoke louder than any confession ever could.
"The staff lying unconscious in the control room, the crushing debuffs placed on Yugo... this was all your handiwork, wasn't it, Cyan?"
"You orchestrated this entire disaster just to spite Neries and the others for 'betraying' you, didn't you?"
"Tch...!"
Cyan turned deathly pale at the words of Marcos and Setsuna, who had arrived at the undeniable truth.
Realizing from his reaction that the two were correct, Peewee and Verda spoke up with expressions of pure disbelief.
"Neries's entire future is riding on this exam! How could you do something so vile...!"
"You're rotten to the core! You absolute piece of trash!"
"Shut up! Shut up! This is all your fault to begin with! You're the ones who betrayed me and walked out on my party!"
"I'll take that as a confession," Ryuga said, his voice flat and cold. "You deliberately sabotaged Neries's exam with malicious intent. Is that your final word?"
"Yeah, so what if I did?! What’s wrong with it? They turned their backs on me—the Protagonist! They’re the ones who deserve to suffer!"
Cornered, Cyan abandoned all pretenses. Blood rushed to his head as he screamed, venting the dark, poisonous hatred and rage festering within his soul.
As the others' fists trembled with fury at his outburst, Ryuga narrowed his eyes.
"I couldn't care less about your motives. And don't expect a shred of mercy. The fact remains that you trapped my Partner and trampled over the efforts of a girl trying to forge her own path. Are you prepared for what comes next?"
Opening his narrowed eyes to reveal a gaze simmering with fury, Ryuga unleashed his magic power as he addressed Cyan.
He leveled Ryuo-ga, ready to deliver justice to the man who had dared to touch the Dragon's Reverse Scale. But before he could act, another shadow blurred into motion.
"Hah!"
"Nuh!? Gwah!?"
Moving like a gale, the figure exhaled sharply and drove a fist into Cyan's gut.
Cyan couldn't even track the blur of motion. He let out a strangled cry as the impact stole the air from his lungs, sending him stumbling back in a desperate scramble for breath.
"You... you're a monster...!"
Misery stood over him, her shoulders shaking with a rare, visceral fury that cracked her usually stoic mask.
"What you did could have destroyed Neries-san's life. One mistake and everything she’s worked for would be gone. Because of your petty, selfish ego, she...!"
Misery had been by Neries's side every day since she’d resolved to take this test. She had seen the sweat and the struggle more closely than anyone. She could not—would not—forgive this atrocity.
She saw her own past reflected in Neries. They were friends who had bonded through grueling training, best friends who had shared their hopes for the future. And this man had almost stolen it all.
Misery burned with an extraordinary rage toward Cyan for his malice, yet he continued to howl his selfish logic without a care.
"Like I give a damn! You were all supposed to be ruined! That was the plan! This is your fault!"
"...!!"
Faced with Cyan's utter lack of remorse, Misery's expression shifted from wrath to pure shock.
Seeing her momentarily stunned by his audacity, Cyan drew his spear and lunged at her.
"Out of my way! Die!"
At this point, he didn't care what happened anymore. He would ruin everything.
Having abandoned all restraint in his attempt to destroy it all, Cyan tried to strike down Misery first—but a massive wall suddenly stood in his path.
"Hraaaaaagh!"
"Wh-...!?"
With a thunderous roar, Verda threw himself between them, catching the spear's tip against his own armor.
Having blocked the strike, Verda ground his teeth together, glaring at Cyan with sharp, lethal eyes.
"Leaving your party was the best decision I ever made," Verda spat, his voice a low growl. "You aren't a Hero Candidate. You're just a pathetic piece of trash!"
"You... you bastard!!"
Cyan's mind was dyed a singular shade of rage at the provocation.
The moment all his attention was focused on the man, Peewee's voice rang out.
"Verda! Misery! Clear out!"
"?!?!"
Cyan’s head snapped toward Peewee. She was already poised, a massive sphere of roiling flame hovering before her.
The classic RPG strategy—the Tank pulls the aggro while the Rearguard prepares the finishing blow. Cyan gasped as he realized he’d been baited perfectly.
"Go to hell, you scumbag!"
"Gyaaaaaaaaaah!"
The fireball slammed into Cyan with the force of a battering ram. The resulting explosion launched him backward, shattering the control room's window and sending him plummeting into the practice grounds below.