Enveloped in a crimson radiance, Yugo lunged at Yakaba, his body encased in Black Iron Armor. He drove a clenched fist into the villain's crystalline torso, forcing a pained groan from Yakaba as he staggered back several steps.
"You damn brat, you’ve really done it now! Fine then, I’m getting serious, you hear me!?"
Yakaba pulled a weapon—something resembling a nail bat—from thin air. Yugo couldn't help but notice how absurdly unbalanced the creature looked, with its ore-like body topped by a megaphone for a head. Before he could dwell on it further, Yakaba swung his weapon with reckless abandon.
"Doraaaa! Oraaaa! Nudoryaaaa!"
"Hup, hah... right there!"
Yakaba unleashed a flurry of wild swings with the nail bat, but his movements were so telegraphed that Yugo found them easy to read. He danced around the blows with precise footwork before seizing an opening to dive deep into the enemy's guard.
"Hyaaaah! Take this!"
"Nugh! Gueh! Goahhh!?"
A powerful weapon was useless once an opponent closed the distance. Yugo dazed Yakaba with a rapid-fire series of punches at point-blank range, then finished the combo by sending the staggering villain flying with a spinning back kick.
Yakaba tumbled across the ground, howling as pain flared through his body. Yugo didn't lower his guard for a second, maintaining a high-alert stance. Snarling, Yakaba pounded the earth in frustration before scrambling to his feet.
"Don't get cocky, you little brat! I've got my henchmen right here... and they're animals!!"
With a roar of defiance, Yakaba blasted a deafening noise from the megaphone on his head. Yugo winced as the sonic shockwave rattled the air, but seeing a blur of shadows lunging at him, he instinctively threw himself into a roll across the dirt.
"Gaur! Grrrr!"
"Tch! This is...!"
A wolf with bared fangs sailed over his head as he ducked low. No sooner had the wolf landed and turned back with a snarl than a rhinoceros charged in, lowering its horn for a lethal thrust.
"Guooooo!"
"Whoa! Crap...!"
Seeing the massive beast barreling toward him with unstoppable momentum, Yugo felt a surge of panic and leapt high into the air. His relief was fleeting. Looking down, he saw a crocodile waiting with jaws agape at his projected landing spot. He frantically expelled Magic Power to shift his trajectory in mid-air.
Snap!
Yugo shuddered at the sound of those jaws slamming shut, imagining the gruesome fate he had just narrowly avoided. Then came the lion, pouncing with a thunderous roar.
"Whoa! Wait a second! Stop with this 'King of the World' and 'Blazing Lion' combination!"
"Gaoooooo!"
Yugo instinctively threw up his right arm like a shield, catching the lion's bite. The micro-particle metal of his Blaster let out a piercing screech as teeth met armor. Despite the crushing pressure on his arm, Yugo’s inner otaku couldn't help but notice the thematic connection between the animals attacking him.
"Hahaha! How do you like that!? This is the power of Yakaba-sama and his crew! A punk like you can't even touch me now, can you!?"
"That bastard... he's just sitting back and acting high and mighty while they do the work...!"
Yugo muttered through gritted teeth as Yakaba continued to provoke him from behind his wall of beasts. Technically, the villain was right, but it was galling to admit that this was "power." If Yugo truly wanted to, he could beat the animals into submission to get to Yakaba, but hurting innocent creatures under mind control was out of the question. The Hero he aspired to be would never stoop so low.
"Hah-hah-hah-hah! Just stay right there and get eaten alive! You can't do a thing! Ha~hah-hah-hah-hah!"
Yakaba had likely seen through Yugo’s hesitation. That was exactly why he sat back and let the animals do the dirty work. Proud of his own "villainous" behavior, Yakaba puffed out his chest and laughed triumphantly. Yet, despite the dire situation, Yugo simply scoffed at him with surprising composure.
"Heh... You're either a complete idiot, or you're just pathetic."
"Hah? What the hell are you talking about!? Stop your desperate bluffing!"
Yakaba felt his blood boil at Yugo’s defiant attitude. He assumed it was just a final, futile show of bravado, but Yugo seemed strangely at ease even while surrounded by predators. As Yakaba’s fury rose, Yugo directed a look of pure pity at him—one that was unmistakable even through the visor of his helmet.
"You go on and on about being an 'Assault Leader' or a 'Legendary Leader'... but you don't have a single comrade standing by your side. You can't call yourself a leader when there's no one following you, can you?"
"Wh-Hah? No comrades? That doesn't matter! I told you already! I don't need comrades—I need henchmen!!"
Yakaba was clearly shaken. Yugo could read the man’s heart like an open book, and he decided to drive the cold, hard truth home.
"Yakaba... it's not that you don't need comrades. It's that you're the kind of person who's incapable of making them."