"Man, look at them... they're really getting worked up. What a bunch of pests."
"They say the weakest curs bark the loudest, but this is getting a bit grating on the ears."
The Former Hero Candidates, blinded by their own greed, could see nothing beyond the debauchery they imagined following Yugo’s defeat.
Having accomplished next to nothing since their reincarnation and harboring deep-seated resentment over having their favorite characters taken from them, their every word and action made their desires clear. They believed they could finally vent that spite and begin the ultimate otherworld harem life they had always envisioned.
They were completely subservient to Dogma's Group, or perhaps they were simply choosing to ignore the fact that the masterminds intended to destroy the world. They were a remarkably carefree bunch, considering they had no way of knowing if those women would even keep their promises once Yugo and his friend were out of the way.
Perhaps this was due to some mental tampering during their reincarnation, but even so, the sight was nothing short of pathetic.
"You know what'll happen to the hostages if you lay a hand on us, right?! If you're so worried about them, you'd better just stand there and take your beating!"
"Besides, with these numbers and the power Dogma gave us, we’d probably win in a fair fight anyway! Gahahahahaha!"
They had the advantage in numbers, and they held hostages at the academy. Positionally, they were favored. That was why the Former Hero Candidates believed with every fiber of their being that they could suppress and defeat Yugo and Ryuga... or so they thought.
"Alright... Transform!"
"Well then, shall we begin?"
"Huh?! What? Wh-What?!"
"Wh-Why are you trying to fight? How can you not hesitate?!"
Contrary to the Former Hero Candidates' expectations that the duo would be unable to offer any resistance, Yugo deployed his Blaster while Ryuga drew Ryuo-ga and took a combat stance.
Watching the two look completely ready for a fight, the Former Hero Candidates stood there in confusion. The duo looked at them with visible exasperation.
"Look, did you guys put any thought at all into Dogma's objective? Her goal is to make me suffer before she wins. You get that, right?"
"And yet, she sent you all the way out here, far from the academy, to fight us... If the goal was to make Yugo suffer, she would have lured us into the academy, paraded the hostages in front of us to break our will, and then tormented us at her leisure. Just like Dogma's Group did at the start."
"But that isn't what's happening. You guys are trying to fight us without bringing a single hostage along, aren't you? Which means Dogma doesn't actually expect you to stop us here. Don't you see?"
"To put it simply... you’re disposable pawns. Dogma's Group doesn't care about you at all. In fact, it feels more like they’re telling us to just hurry up and dispose of you."
"Wh-What...? No, that can't be! Th-That we're... disposable pawns... that’s impossible!!"
The Former Hero Candidates desperately denied it while visibly shaken, but reality was exactly as the two had deduced.
They no longer held any value. If there was a reason for their presence, it was merely to serve as villains who would perish pathetically. From the perspective of Dogma's Group, there wasn't a single reason to give them important roles, support them so they could achieve results, or provide a chance for a life turnaround to people who were already finished.
In that case, it was better to release them all at once like an inventory clearance sale and let Yugo and his partner clean them up. That was the extent of Dogma's plan for them.
"I-I'm the protagonist! I'm a hero! I’m going to leave my mediocre life behind and live the best life possible in this world! For someone like me... for me to be a disposable pawn... I'll never believe—!"
Confronted with the nightmare of the truth, one man shook his head, frantically denying the reality before him.
Reincarnating into the world of a game he had mastered, using cheat abilities and knowledge to be peerless, creating a harem of beautiful girls and living the ultimate life—he had lived until today fueled by that hope, believing that dream would come true.
For it to end with him being relegated to a disposable pawn, exiting the stage as a mere jobber... it was unthinkable. It couldn't be allowed to happen. He would pull off a massive turnaround and seize true happiness. After all, he was the protagonist.
...That shallow, ugly fantasy was shattered into a thousand pieces by Yugo’s fist.
"Guegh!"
"Gywaah!!"
"N-No! This is a lie! It’s all a lie!"
With a single punch or a single flash of a blade, the Former Hero Candidates were sent flying and knocked down in an instant.
After coming to this world... no, for people who had built nothing even in their previous lives, the end was the same for all of them. They could only collapse while tasting the despair of having their illusions of being "special" utterly crushed.
Clinging to the power they had been given, fulfilling their roles on this stage not as humans but as Magic Armor Beasts, not as heroes but as jobbers, they fell to the ground one after another and stopped moving.
There was no one to take their outstretched hands, and the Magic Armor Beast Transformation Tools shattered easily. These miserable reincarnators, discarded even by the masterminds they had clung to at the end, lay motionless as they realized they had lost everything.
While some crouched down wailing and others lay face down on the ground in a state of lethargy, having given up on everything, Yugo and Ryuga moved forward without giving them a second glance.
"I guess that counts as clearing the first trial."
"It's debatable whether they could even be called a wall standing in our way."
"Yeah, I guess so. Those guys weren't really... wait."
Yugo, who had been walking while reflecting on how easily they had repelled the reincarnators, caught his breath as he saw the figures blocking their path once again. He closed his eyes and let out a painful breath.
"Ever since I saw Dogma's broadcast yesterday, I’ve had a feeling it would turn out like this. But man, actually seeing it is rough."
"Yeah... same here, Yugo."
As Yugo bared his heart while sighing in resignation, the man standing in his way spoke. Yugo looked up and met the man’s eyes once more, his expression pained yet resolute.
"I know. This is your job, after all..."
Standing before them were the comrades they had once fought alongside to face evil. They weren't just students from the academy; they were allies of justice who had fought for the peace and safety of the people—the members of the Security Force.
Yugo met the eyes of the man standing at their head, who was staring straight at him, and spoke in a quiet, firm voice.
"Please step aside, Jinba-san. We have something we need to do."