"Wh-what?! What the hell is going on?!"
Woz, tasked with guarding the eastern Magic Item responsible for generating the barrier, stood in a state of utter bewilderment, unable to process the chaos unfolding before his eyes.
Abyss had promised him an easy job, suggesting that the plan might even conclude without him having to do anything at all. Relying on those words, he had been lounging about quite nonchalantly. Indeed, as he stood watch alongside the massive swarm of Magic Armor Beasts Abyss had created, he had watched the island descend into turmoil while assuming his own turn would never come.
...However, the situation had taken a turn that defied his every expectation.
"Move out! As those who aspire to be Magic Knights, fight with courage and duty in your hearts! Do not die! We are all going back to Luminous Academy alive!"
"Oooooooooooooooh!"
"What is this?! What the hell is this?!"
Led by Uno, who howled with his sword raised high, the students of Luminous Academy came charging forward, each wielding their own Magic Items.
Members of the Security Force were peppered throughout their ranks. There was no mistaking their intent: they had come to destroy the Magic Item Woz was protecting. Watching the faces of his former classmates as they fearlessly engaged the Magic Armor Beasts—drawing closer with every monster they cut down—Woz spiraled into a total panic.
(I didn't hear a word about it turning out like this! What is Abyss doing?!)
He had been told that since he was still unfamiliar with his newly acquired Clear Plate, this mission would be a simple one. He had assumed that even if someone did come to destroy the device, the subordinate Magic Armor Beasts would be more than enough to handle the problem.
Yet, as he realized he had been tossed into the middle of a literal war, Woz grew frantic. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he watched the Magic Armor Beasts being slaughtered one after another.
"This is Woz! This is Woz! The enemy is attacking! We're being pushed back! I need backup, immediately!"
Woz desperately sought reinforcements from Abyss or Cyan, who he assumed were idling away inside Hauvent Castle, but no response came.
Why wasn't anyone answering? Both instinct and logic began to scream that he was in grave danger. As his breathing grew ragged, a whistling sound tore through the air as an axe came flying toward him.
"U-uwaah?!"
"Yo! You look like you've got some free time on your hands. In that case, come play with me!"
Woz spotted the incoming axe and hurriedly braced for the impact, only for the weapon to dance through the air like a boomerang and return to its owner’s hand. Hex caught his weapon and flashed a ferocious grin at the panicked Woz before hurling the axe once more.
"Flying Blade: Spinning Great Axe!"
"Guaaaaah! Wheeze, wheeze...!"
The Magic Power-infused axe charged straight ahead, its blade shimmering. Rotating vertically rather than horizontally, the blow possessed enough destructive power to completely ignore Woz’s defense. Woz let out a sound like a croaking toad, gasping for air as he was sent tumbling by the sheer momentum of the throw and the searing pain in his sliced arms. Before he could recover, the next assault arrived.
"Ora ora ora! You don't have time to be laying around!"
"W-waaaah?!"
Verda charged in with a roar, his fist clenched tight. Swinging a massive punch that suited his heavy frame, he cornered the defenseless Woz and slammed a full-powered hook into his face.
"Bubbeh?! Owa—?!"
"I really wanted to give that Cyan bastard a taste of this, but since he’s not here, you'll have to do! I'll hammer it into you instead!"
Struck across the jaw, Woz stumbled and spun around, only for Verda to seize him by the waist and haul him upward into a Backdrop.
With a sickening crunch, Woz’s head was slammed into the earth with enough force to crack the ground. While his vision swam and his consciousness grew hazy, Hex’s axe struck him yet again.
"Agh! Gefu! Gaaaaah...!"
Released from the waist-lock, Woz took the full force of the hurled axe and was sent flying. Groaning in pain, he slammed his fist against the dirt, his irritation boiling over as everything continued to spiral in a direction far worse than his worst-case scenario.
"How could something this stupid be happening?! I’m the Protagonist, aren’t I? My Clear Plate is the [Hero]! So why...?!"
Having obtained the Clear Plate of the [Hero], a title carrying the weight of both savior and leading man, he was supposed to literally become the hero of this world. It was that conviction that fueled Woz’s pride, leaving him certain that he had been chosen by the plate for a reason.
However... compared to that grand destiny, what was this reality?
His allies were monsters, and he was being ganged up on and pummeled by the very people who had gathered to save the island. He was being forced to taste the bitterness of a pathetic defeat.
Is this what a Protagonist looks like? As he forced himself to stand, a weak, gnawing emotion took hold of his heart, realizing his performance was the exact opposite of a hero's—and in that moment, the sight of his Magic Armor Beasts being tossed through the air like toys filled his vision.