"Hey, hey, hey! How much longer do you think you can keep shielding them!?"
"Tch! Gh—! Gah, rgh...!"
"Marcos...!"
Marcos was pushed to his limit, desperately intercepting Burn’s relentless barrage as the villain constantly shifted his aim toward his defenseless allies.
In stark contrast to Marcos, who was scrambling frantically to keep everyone safe, Burn looked as if he were merely at play, casually flicking out one attack after another.
The disparity in their physical and mental exhaustion was night and day. Marcos knew exactly what would happen to his friends if he failed even once; the memory of Uno’s Tragedy was burned into his mind. Driven by that fear, he forced himself to maintain his desperate defense.
"Gyahahaha! Starting to understand Hugo Clay’s struggle? It’s truly pathetic, isn’t it? Having to fight while dragging along baggage like you lot!"
"Marcos! Don't worry about us! Just attack him!"
"At this rate, Marcos-dono will only fall further into a disadvantage! This one begs you, do not mind us! You must counterattack!"
"We aren't that fragile! Enough already! Hit him back, Marcos!"
Though his comrades cried out to him, Marcos could not bring himself to obey. He was the one currently standing in the line of fire.
The sheer impact and blistering heat he felt through the Giga Scissors far exceeded anything Melt and the others could imagine.
If they were to take a direct hit with their own bodies, they wouldn't just be left with the severe injuries Uno had suffered—they would be incinerated. Because he understood the stakes, Marcos had no choice but to keep acting as their shield.
"I take it your magic power is about full? Then let me give you a little 'service'."
Burn noticed the energy peaking within the Giga Scissors and ignited both his fists.
He fired a blast of fire just below the gymnasium ceiling, where it scattered into a lethal downpour. Seeing the Rain of Flames about to descend upon his friends and the children, Marcos immediately pointed the Giga Scissors upward and released his stored magic power.
"Golden Reflection!"
The unleashed Golden Wave formed a shimmering shield that shattered the falling embers.
However, having used his finishing move with his guard directed toward the ceiling, Marcos was left completely exposed. Burn did not miss the opening and landed a clean hit.
"Take this! And this!"
"Guh...! Gah...!?"
"MARCOS!"
A fist buried itself in his stomach, followed by a flame-enhanced roundhouse kick that sent him flying.
Marcos tumbled across the gymnasium floor as Elena screamed his name. Burn’s mocking laughter echoed through the hall.
"Now that energy you worked so hard to save is back to zero. And look at you—you’re a wreck. I'd say the winner is pretty clear, wouldn't you? Eh?"
"Haa... haa...!"
Burn narrowed his eyes with sadistic pleasure, watching Marcos struggle to drag his battered body back up from the ground.
Completely dominating the fight by using the hostages as weapons, the villain laughed uproariously and shouted so everyone on the battlefield could hear him.
"You haven't forgotten, have you, loser!? Everyone in the academy is watching you be pathetic! That lady entrusted the rest to you, and this is the best you can do? How goddamn pitiful!"
"Don't you dare laugh at Marcos! You aren't strong—you're just a coward using dirty tricks!"
"Hah! And what’s wrong with that? I’m the one winning, and he’s the one losing. Howling about 'fairness' is just an excuse the weak use to comfort themselves! Gyahahahahahaha!"
Burn spat the words at Melt, his laughter vulgar and grating.
He clutched his stomach, his face twisted in a grin as he continued.
"Besides, Hugo Clay and that young lady are total morons! To think they actually believed in a small-fry loser like this!"
"Marcos isn't a loser! He’s not small-fry either! He is much, much stronger than someone like you!"
"Strong? Him? Gyahahahahaha! What a joke! The guy was just whining about being useless a moment ago, and right now he’s my personal punching bag. Tell me, exactly which part of him is strong? Eh?"
Burn taunted Elena, his voice dripping with condescension.
Just as she was about to snap back, Marcos instantaneously closed the distance and swung at the villain.
"Whoops! Still got some fight in you? Or is this just a final spark before you go out? Either way, you don't scare me!"
"...Take it back."
"Huh?"
"Take back... everything you just said...!"
Burn continued to mock him even as he blocked the blades of the Giga Scissors, but Marcos merely let out a low, guttural growl.
Something about the knight's tone made Burn feel uneasy. He leaped back to put some distance between them before shouting again.
"Haha! Do you hate being called a loser that much? Is your noble pride so fragile that you can't stand being called what you are?"
"That's not it. I don't give a damn about my pride...!"
"What...?"
Burn had expected his provocations to rattle his opponent, but Marcos gave a response that defied his expectations.
The knight dismissed the insult to himself as irrelevant. Looking at the bewildered Burn, Marcos spoke with a fire burning deep within his soul.
"You are right about one thing. I am merely an ordinary talent. I don't possess the overwhelming strength of Yugo or Ryuga, and here I am, being humiliated and forced into a corner. But Yugo and Claire believed in me. They risked their lives to entrust this moment to me. I will not—under any circumstances—overlook words that mock the friends who gave me their trust...!"
No matter how battered he became, no matter how dire the struggle, there were things he would never yield.
Above his own honor, above his pride as a noble, he would protect the honor of his friends and the trust they had placed in him. That conviction alone set Marcos's heart ablaze.
"I was believed in. I was entrusted with a mission. Therefore, I will protect them! I will protect my friends and I will defeat you! Yugo believed I could do it, and that is why he left this to me! If I cannot live up to that trust here... then I have no right to call myself his friend!"
"Pffft... hyahaha! You really think you can do it? You think you can pull off a miracle against me?"
"It is not a matter of whether I can or cannot. I will do it! I will become a Hero! A shield strong enough to protect my friends, the children, and Yugo! I will become the Hero Who Protects Everything!"
"Then keep your dreaming for the afterlife... right after I burn you to ash!"
Faced with Marcos’s unbreakable spirit, Burn let out a frustrated scream and unleashed a torrent of flames.
Once again, the knight raised his shield to protect his comrades, accepting the burden of the disadvantageous position. As Carlos watched that silhouette—a man who had sworn an absolute vow to protect those behind him—he nodded deeply and muttered to himself.
"What a fool. A man who can say those words with such conviction could never be a loser...!"