“Time’s up. Let’s get started!”
The time has finally come.
Marie and the others haven’t returned to the duel arena yet, and the showdown with Pierre is about to begin.
When I walk to the center, Professor Cremen grabs my shoulder.
“Stop being stubborn! Even if you lose, as long as you’re alive it’s fine!”
What a good teacher.
The outfit… yeah, I shouldn’t worry about that.
But I’ve got my own reasons I can’t back down.
“Even now I’m carrying the Holfart banner on my back. I’m still a hero, you know. When I go back to the kingdom, my position matters.”
Professor Narcis wipes the sweat from his brow.
“I thought you were completely detached from that kind of stuff.”
“Cowards are weak when it comes to ties.”
“Cowards don’t even think about dueling, do they?”
Wrong.
I have to teach them what it means for a coward to duel.
“You two, step outside.”
When the two leave the arena, I move toward the center.
Standing in front of the Alogantz, I can feel its sheer size and intimidation.
Usually it’s reassuring, but facing it head‑on makes me nervous.
“The kingdom’s nobles will be minced in a flash. You brag about being a hero, but a scum like you is just a weakling in the Republic.”
“Ever heard ‘the weaker the dog, the louder it barks’? My Noel barely barks at all. You could learn a thing or two.”
I reply, and Pierre shouts.
Can’t hold it in, can you?
You were the one who started the trash talk, after all.
“Judge! Let’s get this started already!”
The Alogantz points its rifle at me.
The judge, perhaps sensing what’s about to happen, announces the start with a vague, conflicted tone.
“Under the name of the Sacred Tree, we shall now conduct a holy duel. Both parties, no lies in your oaths, okay?”
While Pierre mutters “Hurry up!”, I politely answer, “No, there are none.”
“…Then, let the duel begin!”
The loudspeaker crackles, and a bell tolls to signal the start.
Pierre pulls the trigger, aiming at my face.
A scream‑like howl rises from the audience, but I roll to the right and sprint.
A bullet whistles through where I was standing, slams into the wall, and makes a hole.
“Running around like a scared pup, you little—!”
The Alogantz readjusts its rifle, and Pierre fires again.
I change direction, dodging bullet after bullet.
“You’re terrible. Try hitting me.”
I stick my tongue out and taunt, and Pierre hurls his rifle at me.
“The rifle’s the problem! If you’re that desperate, I’ll grab you and crush you!”
The Alogantz lunges to grab me.
I deliberately dive under its legs and slip away.
Pierre’s frustration spikes.
“Don’t run!”
“You’re gonna catch me, right? Look, I’m right here. Try it.”
I tease, and the Alogantz charges.
◇
Narcis and Cremen watch Leon darting around the arena, both on edge.
“Wow, he’s dodging so well. Since he used to own this thing, does he know all its weak points?”
Cremen chews his handkerchief anxiously.
“Even so, it’s still a disadvantage. One slip and you’re dead. Leon, why did you take on a fight like this?”
Leon’s slick evasions make him look far better than a regular knight—plus he’s got guts.
They can’t help but think he really is a young hero.
“Maybe the whole ‘hero’ thing isn’t a lie after all.”
“At that age? I heard he pulled off some big deeds and got promoted.”
They don’t know exactly how much he’s accomplished.
Narcis, more scholar than noble, and Cremen, a teacher, can’t quite assess Leon properly.
…If the Alzel Republic had judged Leon fairly, they probably would’ve turned him down for study abroad.
Around them, academy students forced to watch by Pierre’s orders fill the stands.
Girls who don’t want to see a duel keep their eyes shut.
Cremen lets out a surprised, guttural “Whoa!” that echoes.
The Alogantz brandishes its battle axes with both hands, swinging to kill Leon.
Even Leon shows a hint of panic as he runs.
Sand flies, and broken wall fragments from the arena’s destruction are blown by the Alogantz’s movements, striking Leon.
Blood streams from his cheek.
“Leon‑kun!”
Cremen rushes to call off the duel, but Julius and his crew arrive, holding a girl with a dog.
“Bartfort! Carla and Noel are safe!”
Julius, panting, shouts, drawing everyone’s eyes.
Pierre, still dueling, points the Alogantz’s head at Julius.
When Leon sees Carla and Noel are okay, his tired face suddenly breaks into a grin, as if saying he’s been waiting for this.
Narcis notices the change.
“What… what’s up?”
Pierre looks bored.
“Ugh! Useless idiots. But killing you here would be the same outcome. Even if the woman and dog survive, you dying won’t change anything.”
Leon wipes the blood from his cheek.
“No… I win.”
The crowd thinks he’s gone mad, but Julius, Jilk, and even Carla smile.
Noel watches Leon too.
Cremen, puzzled, yells, “Hey, hey! Our comrades are about to die, why are you smiling!?”
“Heartless!” he rages, and Julius’s group replies,
“…You don’t understand a man named Bartfort. He’s currently the strongest knight in the kingdom.”
Cremen is shocked.
“But even if he’s strong, the armor’s the opponent!”
Jilk wipes sweat from his brow, smiling calmly.
“You don’t get it. Even if they call him the strongest, his strength is only that of an excellent knight. What makes him special is something else. He—Count Bartfort takes a fight he can’t win and makes it winnable.”
Carla nods.
“He’ll definitely win. If he can’t win, he wouldn’t even fight! And he’s definitely up to something, because he’s always angry!”
Cremen is bewildered.
“…So, he’s on our side, right?”
Julius brushes his bangs aside,
“Let’s call him a rival. He’s the guy who beat me—me, the former Crown Prince—right in front of everyone. Yet he kept climbing the ranks to where he is now.”
Narcis can’t wrap his head around it.
“But wouldn’t that normally get you punished?”
Julius shakes his head, not understanding.
It’s like he’s bragging about Leon.
“You don’t see the luck, the political maneuvering that lets a guy keep getting promotions even after losing. He’s not a man who just fights and quits. Marie’s yelling made me remember—Bartfort, who cornered us, would never lose to a petty foe. Pierre’s a scoundrel too. But… Bartfort is on a whole other level!”
Cremen puts both hands to his mouth.
“That’s not praise! It’s the same as insulting!”
Narcis turns his gaze back to the arena.
“What on earth are they thinking?”
◇
Someone’s out there mocking me.
Should I cut off aid to Marie and make her starve?
While I’m thinking that, Pierre swings a battle axe at me.
I dodge each swing by a hair’s breadth.
“Just die already!!!”
Alright—enough’s enough.
I’ve bought us plenty of time.
I step back a good distance from the Alogantz.
And I take a stance.
“Huh? What’s that stance? You really plan to take on an armored opponent bare‑handed?”
Pierre and his cronies in the crowd burst out laughing at my pose.
I speak calmly.
“Armor is a suit that a person has to get into, so its shape limits what you can do.”
In the game’s lore, armor is moved by magic, so a humanoid shape is easier to control—that’s the premise.
“Did you lose your mind? Then die!”
The Alogantz charges.
I move in sync with the swinging battle axe—when it passes through me, the Alogantz rolls over the ground. To the audience, it looks like I knocked the Alogantz down.
“Do you know the saying ‘柔よく剛を制す’—soft overcomes hard?”
The fallen Alogantz tries to get up.
◇
Pierre has no idea what’s happening.
“What the—? What’s going on?”
Frustrated, Pierre keeps slashing at Leon, but every strike is dodged and he’s sent flying.
Leon, looking like a martial arts master, scares Pierre.
Using an almost‑perfect armor and still losing shows just how abnormal Leon’s situation is.
Pierre looks at the back of his right hand.
“No—this can’t be. I swore by the Sacred Tree, and if I use this… I’ll lose my protection.”
Scared of losing his blessing, Pierre hears an electronic voice inside the cockpit.
“Target voice data edit complete. Proceeding to next phase of operation.”
“What? Whose voice is that!?”
Pierre spins around, but the spectators don’t notice anything odd.
“Hey, whose voice is that!?”
Then the Alogantz starts moving on its own.
“Huh?”
Pierre is shocked as his own edited voice comes out—
“Don’t mess with me! I’ll blow everyone away!”
Pierre never said that, yet the Alogantz clearly plays his voice.
It moves by itself, opens its container, and missiles launch outward.
The arena erupts in explosions, and the crowd scrambles.
The judge shouts,
“Stop! Pierre, cease fire right now!”
Pierre yells,
“Not me! Stop it!”
He tries to move the controls, but the Alogantz keeps acting on its own.
He grabs a fallen rifle, starts firing, and tears the arena apart.
“Everyone, get blown away!!!”
Laughter rings as the audience runs for their lives.
Pierre screams,
“It’s not me! It’s not me!!!”
Then Leon steps out of the smoke.
“…I’ll finish this.”
◇
I stand before the rampaging Alogantz, which points its left‑hand battle axe at me.
“Shut up! I’ll kill you, then show everyone here just how strong I am!”
I brace myself.
From the stands, Professor Cremen’s voice rings out.
“Leon‑kun, run! Pierre’s not in his right mind!”
I answer as confidently as I can,
“If I run now, I won’t be able to stop this thing. Hold on, Alogantz—I’ll get you back under control soon.”
I pull my right hand back slightly, open my palm, and put everything on one strike.
“You think that’ll be enough? Huh—!”
I dive into the Alogantz’s chest.
Dodging the swung battle axe, I press my palm against its torso.
“Did you know there’s a technique that sends shockwaves inside? Just because you’re in armor doesn’t mean you can underestimate a bare human!”
I pour my strength into it, and the Alogantz is blasted away.
Narcis’s voice echoes,
“No way! Do you even realize the weight difference!?”
The teachers stare at me in disbelief.
The audience, now stopped fleeing, watches.
I approach the Alogantz, which has crashed into a wall and is sputtering.
“Pierre, don’t think this is over. The fun’s just beginning.”
I grip my custom‑made gloves.
◇
While Leon and the others duel, the port scene unfolds.
When the device that Einhorn had fixed is purged, it slowly rises.
A few of Pierre’s drunk goons and some drunken retainers complain about the outside view.
“Hey, who’s moving this thing?”
“It’s a hangover. Stop it.”
“Is this Pierre’s order?”
I thought they were just slackers—until—
“Einhorn, shall we start the operation? This ridiculous time is over.”
It was Luxion.
Luxion heads to the bridge, where robots are piloting the airships.
He ties up Pierre’s goons on the bridge, stuffing cloth into their mouths.
He looks like he wants to say something, but Luxion ignores him.
“Lock onto the guard fleet docked at the port, target the military airships.”
The robots move, and cannons emerge from Einhorn, blasting a warship.
The crucial engine parts are hit; the airship catches fire.
Almost empty, the burning airship drifts down slowly, and we see people evacuating.
“Minimize civilian casualties, destroy as you like—typical Master orders.”
Einhorn continues to smash airships one after another.
The port facilities suffer the same fate.
People run in panic.
Finally, the goons and retainers, finally realizing what’s happening, pound on the bridge doors.
“Open up! What the hell are you doing!”
“You’ll be killed if you keep this up!”
“Look, the warship’s coming!”
Outside, a guard airship hovers over the port.
Luxion spots that one of them is the very ship that inspected us earlier.
“…Missile launch.”
Einhorn fires missiles; warships ignite one after another.
The power is calibrated—not a total annihilation.
“Deploy drones. Kick the Alogantz’s ass, and give a proper thanks to anyone who insulted the Master.”
From Einhorn, legless, armor‑like robots take off.
Among the fleeing Republic soldiers, they spot the captain from that earlier boat and surround him.
They capture him; the captain screams and cries.
“Let me go!!!”
The robots beat the captain, then return. Luxion says,
“If I could have rampaged in person, I would’ve. Let’s go. We need to show the Republic what Einhorn’s power looks like.”
Einhorn heads toward the Fevel family’s lands—its emblem rises on the hull, vines sprout, trying to swallow the ship.
“The analysis is already done. Don’t think you can bind me with something this weak.”
The emblem bursts apart as Einhorn’s engine roars.
“Alright, let’s let it run wild too.”