"Hugo, don't hold back! If knocking me out is too hard, then break my arms or my legs—anything to stop me!"
"Hao...!"
Dogma watched with a smile of pure pleasure as Hugo Clay struggled to fend off Hao, the Vice President of the Cooking Club.
Though combat was not his forte, the hypnosis compelled Hao to strike out with his cooking utensils even as he desperately pleaded with his friend.
"What are you waiting for?! You’re going to get killed! Do you really think I’d hold a grudge against you for stopping me now?"
"It’s not that! It’s just—!"
"Then stop wavering! Aren’t we friends? Or was our friendship all just for show?!"
"......!!"
Hugo remembered Hao’s prickly attitude when they first met, and the bond they had forged after surviving the incidents that followed. Their friendship had grown bit by bit, moving from strangers to something far deeper. Stifling his agony, Hugo steeled his resolve and drove a low kick into Hao’s leg.
A sickening crack echoed through the air. Hao collapsed, his leg bone shattered, but he forced a smile through the searing pain.
He felt a brief moment of relief, thinking he could no longer be used as a weapon... but Hypno had anticipated this. He intensified the hypnosis, forcing Hao to stand upright on his splintered bone.
"Gwahhh! Ahhhhhh!!"
"Hao?! You bastard, how dare you!"
"Good grief, why glare at me like that? You're the one who broke his leg, aren't you? If you hadn't laid a hand on him, he wouldn't be in this state. It’s not my fault. It’s all on you!"
With his leg still broken, Hao was forced to remain standing, letting out a scream of excruciating pain.
Hugo’s rage mounted at Hypno's actions, which mocked Hao's resolve, but the villain simply shifted the blame back onto Hugo while preparing a new torment.
"Ah, they've finally arrived. Look, Hugo Clay... while you were busy hesitating, the situation worsened even further. What will you do now?"
"What...?"
Hugo followed Hypno’s pointing finger and saw children from the Elementary Division marching toward them, sobbing uncontrollably.
The Flame of Judgment hadn't just affected the older students; the younger ones were puppets now, too. As Hugo realized the horror, a blindingly bright fire filled his vision.
"You really gave me a hard time earlier! Here's some payback! Savor it to your heart's content!!"
"I am deactivating everyone's Magic Barrier and their physical enhancements... if Burn's flame lands like this, they will be more than just charred remains. How will you handle this, Hero?"
"Guh...! Uooooooooooh!!"
"No! Hugo!!"
Burn unleashed a gargantuan sphere of flame from above while Hypno simultaneously stripped Hugo's allies of their magical defenses. If the blast hit, his friends, the children, and his brother would all be incinerated.
This was no time for hesitation. Hugo launched himself into the air, meeting the falling sun with a punch fueled by every drop of his magic power.
Melt’s scream was drowned out by a deafening roar as a massive explosion ripped through the schoolyard. Having sacrificed himself to neutralize the flames, Hugo was slammed violently into the ground.
"Hah... hah... hah... guh, guuu...!"
"Hugo, I'm sorry... because of us...!"
"Move! Please, move! It's my body, isn't it?! Why won't you move?!"
Hugo stood among the ruins of his shattered Blaster armor, barely clinging to consciousness. The situation was beyond despair, yet Dogma had one more card to play.
"Hey, that's enough, isn't it? Let us in on the fun!"
"Oh my... well, I suppose you're right. It is about time I gave you all a turn as well..."
A new group emerged from behind Dogma—a legion of monstrous Magic Armor Beasts. The students were aghast, but as they recognized the voices of the newcomers, their own voices began to tremble.
"N-no way... You're the Reincarnators who were taken away yesterday...!"