Hugo watched with mounting desperation as his friends lunged at him in unison, Dogma’s voice, dripping with sadistic pleasure, ringing in his ears.
Swords, spears, staves... Hugo reflexively dodged the onslaught of weapons and Magic Items. His mind raced, frantically searching for a way to shatter this nightmare.
(What should I do? What can I possibly do to save them!?)
The comrades currently assailing him were mere puppets, their bodies held captive by the hypnosis of Dogma’s group. Among them were precious allies he had fought alongside, friends he could never bring himself to harm.
Yet, trying to reach Dogma while fending off over a hundred brainwashed opponents was a monumental task. Hugo considered attempting a precision strike to take down Hypno and break the spell, but his friends' relentless interference kept him pinned.
"Damn it...! Run, Hugo! Get out of here!"
"To be lured into a trap and forced to turn my blade against Hugo-dono... How can I ever atone for such a disgrace...!?"
Hugo parried the heavy swings of Anhel’s hammer and the sweeping strikes of Sakura’s naginata. Their tortured voices echoed in his heart, each word a fresh wound. He struggled to maintain his resolve while witnessing his friends’ agony at their own involuntary actions, and in that moment of hesitation, Marcos charged.
"Guh...! For I, Marcos Borg, to be reduced to such a pathetic display...! Hugo! Ignore me! Strike me down with everything you have!!"
"You idiot! You know I can't do that!!"
Hugo shouted back as he dodged the snapping blades of the Giga Scissors. He managed to weave through the frantic attacks and seize the weapon, successfully halting Marcos's movements. However, Anhel and Sakura immediately capitalized on his position, slamming their own weapons into Marcos's shield.
"Guh! Gwaaaah!!"
"Hugo!!"
The impact triggered the shield’s special property, and the accumulated Magic Power erupted into a Golden Wave at point-blank range. Caught in the blast of Marcos's Golden Reflection, Hugo was blown backward, tumbling across the stone ground.
He gasped for air, struggling to push himself up for the next wave, but his heart sank as more students closed in.
"Hugo! Do it! Just do it!! Don't hold back for our sake—blow us away!"
Hugo gritted his teeth at the sight of Hex swinging his axe with a ferocious shout. He barely managed to block the strike, and for a fleeting second, he saw an opening. He started to drive his fist forward—but the moment his eyes met his friend's, the strength drained from his arm.
He had missed his chance to counter. Instead, he had left himself wide open for Verda’s Intense Tackle.
"Gah...!?"
"Hugo, forgive me...!"
"Please... we're begging you... defeat us...!"
As Hugo was sent sprawling, Peewee’s Magic rained down as a follow-up bombardment. As he struggled to lift his head through the pain, Misery—further empowered by Neries's Enhancement Magic—was already upon him.
"Hugo-san! Please, run!!"
A flash of silver. A Sharp Jab Clad in Electricity lunged toward Hugo’s chest.
He forced his body into a desperate roll, narrowly avoiding the strike. But when he looked up, he saw Neries wailing in the distance and Misery’s face streaked with tears as she prepared her next move. The sight paralyzed him once more.
"Master...! I'm begging you. Attack me as if you mean to kill me...!!"
"What are you saying!? I could never—!!"
"At this rate, we're going to kill you! If the only way to repay my debt to you is to be your executioner, then please, let me die by your hand instead—!!"
The crackle of lightning, the glint of needles, and the agonizing wails of his friends twisted Hugo’s very soul. He was being forced into a battle he didn't want against the people he cared for most, and the cruelty of it was far worse than any simple violence. Watching this from the side, Fee felt a piercing pain, as if his own heart were being gouged out.
"Brother...! Everyone...!"
"Oh, the poor Hero is in quite the pinch, isn't he? Watching him now, I really do appreciate how difficult it must be to carry such a title...!"
Dogma spoke to Fee in a syrupy voice, thick with concentrated malice. She seemed to savor the boy's near-despair as he watched his brother being cornered by the very people he had fought to protect.
"Hugo Clay has saved so many people, weaving bonds and winning their trust. Among that crowd are countless souls who consider him a brother-in-arms. And Hugo Clay feels the same... Many of them are just as important to him as you are. To hear them screaming for their own deaths while they try to kill him... it’s simply wonderful torture for his heart, don't you think?"
Dogma’s breathing grew ragged as she gazed at Hugo. Her cheeks burned with a feverish flush; the sight of his suffering was clearly intoxicating to her.
"Every time he hears them cry, he feels the urge to save them! Naturally, he can't abandon his brother, either! That’s because he’s a Hero! Because he’s a foolish, arrogant man who cherishes his friends too much to let go of anything! The more he sees them suffer, the more his heart will race with panic, and the more he’ll be driven into a corner! In the end, he’ll lose the ability to make a single rational choice. He'll be trapped in a state of eternal hesitation... and that path leads only to a Desperate Bad Ending. It's magnificent...!!"
"So... this was your goal all along! You took me hostage just to break my brother—!!"
"No, no, you've got it wrong...! We have no intention of killing him. It's the rest of you who are going to die."
Dogma’s expression twisted into a mask of pure, vicious evil. She looked at Fee with a smile that heralded only misery.
"A Hero Fallen into Despair, having lost his comrades and his brother all at once because he was too weak to choose... To create such a masterpiece... that is our true objective...!!"