I hate being wed in a fantasy world!

Extra 3 – Far away from Goldbrunn, the City of Relative Safety

Tetsukawa Nobuo is that guy in class that somehow blends in. That unremarkable boy, who is part of the group, but a close friend to no one. He would never be the one chosen for anything, not for class president, not for any kind of committee, not even if anyone needs a volunteer. He's something like the eighth choice, from the bottom or top.

Part of this is because of his appearance. He has short hair, but not that short, a typical boy length of hair. His face is adequate, but nothing stands out, so when he's drawn in art class, the most generic picture of a boy is the inevitable result.

Grades, average. Physical capabilities, a bit above average but not outstanding. Popularity? Most people would say, they like him, though nobody would put him in the popular-category.

However, Nobuo doesn't mind the cards life has given him. To be honest, it's not bad, as he was always able to find a group, he was usually able to avoid any significant problems. He's also balance-minded, so while others tend to decide that stuff is wrong or right, he's the one who sees both of it and doesn't let it bother him too much if someone disagrees or is mean to him.

Of course, he becomes angry or sad, he can even yell, but in the end, it's just for a short while, before he calms down and gets on with his life.

Tetsukawa Nobuo is a hero of Feuerberg, summoned from Japan to defeat the demon king. He's so glad that he isn't any sort of chosen one, but just one of the entire class that was summoned. Though he'd still preferred to not be summoned.

When the class was transferred, each of them had the choice to either show some talent which is useful for the kingdom of Feuerberg, or to undergo the training to join in the fight against the demons. Given how Nobuo lacks any unique attribute, he joined the training and formed a party with four of his classmates.

Nobuo is the [Priest] of the party. His job is to make sure that everyone stays alive. He also has the [Soldier]-class. It was the first one he chose, but after some considerations, the party decided to let him take the part of the party-healer. As Nobuo had had a late start in that career, he could avoid the [Healer]-trap that two of his classmates fell into. Being average in things can be a big bonus, as others have already explored the paths you want to take.

Currently, Nobuo is at the border of the demon realm, also called Daemonicus. Feuerberg is framed by several mountains, creating natural boundaries between this nation and others, Nobuo is at the Feuerstein-mountains, at the southern border. After the search for the princess was called off, Nobuo and his party resumed their training.

Training means either to patrol the border or to team up with some soldiers and make small advances in the enemy country to get a better feel for the area. Feuerberg already established a fort inside Daemonicus, but it's heavily reliant on supplies. That's why most missions into the demon realm are to protect the wagons, an excellent job in itself, and usually calm, Much better than meeting the demons, who throw themselves with glee against any enemy they can find.

Demons are strange, they resemble other life-forms, like humans or animals, but they always have horns, fangs, spikes, or tails. A spiked turtle had once spoken to Nobuo, how it would gouge out his guts before it was hammered by Harada-kun, the [Warrior] and leader of the party.

Nobuo doesn't like demons. They're scary, not only in appearance but also in attitude. It's like they enjoy fighting so much that they yearn for killing, and think of humans as nothing more than mere toys to fulfill these desires.

Maybe they can be reasonable, but Nobuo is starting to doubt this more and more. The more demons he encounters, the more he thinks that Feuerberg and the surrounding kingdoms should have wiped them out long ago, but that may be more difficult than it seems. The parts of the demon realm Nobuo saw were infertile, and the scouts report of toxic gases, non-potable water, sudden tremors and other things. It's like a fight against nature, and humans can't fight nature, they can only endure it and protect themselves from it.

Today, Nobuo and his party are patrolling the border. The enemies around here are much tougher than the ones around Esse, the capital, but they're doing fine. They're currently looking in the Feuerstein-mountains, as they get a premium for patrolling this area. While mountains are good borders against armies, they also are a superb cover.

“This stinks,” comes from the [Wizard] of the party, Kuga Shigeru-san. His bony face and his slender, tall body make him look rather sick. “I mean, seriously. Patrolling, fighting monsters, every day is the same.”

“Well,” Nobuo answers with a wry smile, “it's better than being overly exciting, right? I mean, Inoue and his party survived a monster house, right? I prefer a bit of boredom over that.”

“Hey, Noda-chan!” Kuga-san totally ignored Nobuo. “How about you and me, ditch this.”

“Eh? No,” the rejection of this party's [Thief], Noda Yukino-chan, is part-way giggling, part-way adamant, the way how girls can reject a guy without the need to commit to anything fully. As Kuga-san is always asking the girls about this and that, none of them even take him seriously.

Nobuo smiles to himself, thinking that Kuga-san may do it on the off-chance, that it will someday succeed. Especially since the girls in their party have become more toned after selecting their [Classes]. Noda-chan was a bit plump before, but now she looks and moves smooth and dexterously.

Toriyama Chidori-chan got a bit more muscle. She's their party's [Hunter] now, and she's rather sexy, especially with that leather armor. It's not like it's a tight fit or something, but something about it makes Nobuo look at her.

The same goes for the other guys. Well, they can be glad that the girls asked them to join, as the girls were most likely afraid to do it alone. Having guys around is, without a doubt, handy for girls. Not that Nobuo minds, as they do pull their weight.

“If you want some action, Kuga, we can ask for a scouting mission,” speaks Harada Reiji-kun, the [Warrior] and leader of the party, who is a jerk often enough. He was the substitute catcher of the school's baseball team, even as a first-year, so that's something to be proud of, but he's a tad arrogant and bossy.

“Eh... no, thanks.”

“Then don't complain. We're doing this in baby steps, safe and sound, remember?”

“...yes.”

'Baby steps.' That's the motto of this party, the one reason why they're all together. There are five parties in the combat-group. Inoue's party, it started out with six and now is down to five, because class rep Momokawa couldn't keep up. Still, they're the elite party, their leveling speed is scary, but they also do the really crazy stuff.

The second party is Shinohara-san and her girls. An all-female party, while the hero-system seems to balance out the differences between men and women, and there are surprisingly many women within the army, Nobuo isn't sure how well it is going. He couldn't join as a boy anyway, but he hasn't heard from them in a long time.

The third party consists of Hoshibashi-kun and Yoshimura-kun, another pair Nobuo hasn't heard about much since the princess-incident. Maybe they're still looking, same as the second party? Well, Hoshibashi-kun and Yoshimura-kun had that 'we're doing it our way'-aura, and Nobuo has his doubts about how well it worked out.

The fourth party is a mess. Nobuo is glad that he didn't become part of that, it's all about two guys competing for one girl, like a cheap drama.

The fifth party is most likely the only tempered one. They do their training carefully and with almost no risk. It takes a while, but that's a low price to pay for staying alive.

Well, technically, there would be a sixth party. Katsuragi-kun and class rep Momokawa, though it looks like they're either trouble or in trouble. Nobuo has heard what happened between Inoue-kun's party and Katsuragi-kun.

Well, Katsuragi-kun is... special... “Baby steps are the best. Keep a low profile, then nobody expects you to do the impossible.”

“Tetsukawa,” Harada-kun answers annoyed, “you make it sound like we're cowards.”

“No, no, I don't mean that. It's just that being the center of attention brings its own share of problems.”

“Say, are you making fun of me?”

“No, no. I'm just happy. It's all quiet today after all.”

“I see.” Harada-kun lets Nobuo off the hook.

“Man, Tetsukawa-san, you really are pathetic,” Kuga adds his two cents.

“Peace is the best.” No need to get into conflicts with his party-members, Nobuo thinks that being flexible is a virtue, even if it means to endure a bit of teasing.

Ah, the girls look at him, they giggle with each other, Nobuo is sure, they're making fun of him. However, that's alright. A bit of ridicule isn't a reason to get angry or sad about. Sure, it hurts at times, but it goes away.

After some more patrolling, they decide to make a small camp for lunch. This is the time when they usually chat, this time it begins with Inoue-kun's party, which is receiving training in Esse: “Will we be the next ones?” Kuga wonders.

Nobuo gives his opinion. “Possibly. I mean, we also have five members. Though maybe they'll start with Hoshiyoshi first?” That’s the nickname they gave the Hoshibashi and Yoshimura-party. “I mean, they're only two people, and they may have started with Inoue-kun because of what happened with Katsuragi-kun.”

“That jerk,” comes from Toriyama-chan. Like all girls in the class, she hates everything about Katsuragi-kun.

“How dare he to do that to Inoue-kun!” adds Noda-chan. Like all girls in the class, she's enchanted by Inoue-kun's good looks.

Nobuo doesn't think so harshly about Katsuragi-kun, though the matter with Inoue complicates the issue: “Maybe it's all a misunderstanding?”

“How can you say that!?”

“Well, I sat next to him in class. I've observed him a bit, how can I say...” Actually, it's quite easy. Katsuragi-kun just hates people. That's what he's about, that's why he looks at everyone scornfully, especially when they talk to him. He doesn't want to care about others. He's just someone who doesn't need friends, while everyone preaches about the power of friendship. This may be very annoying to him, something he can't even understand. So who can blame him to act the way he does around others? Still, wording it like that would be much harsher than Nobuo wants to phrase it: “...he's a lone wolf.”

At the start of the term, Nobuo tried to talk to Katsuragi, given how they were seated next to each other. The first three conversations were... insightful.

'Hello, my name is Tetsukawa Nobuo, nice-' - 'Fuck off.'

'How about we eat lunch together, Katsuragi-kun? Katsuragi-kun? Katsuragi-kun?'

'Hey, Katsuragi-kun. Can I ask you a question?' - 'Can you do me a favor?' - 'Yes, of course?' - 'Shut up.'

Nobuo knows how to get along with people, and in Katsuragi-kun's case, getting along means to leave him alone. That's why Nobuo was very surprised to see Katsuragi-kun with class rep at Fort Wächter. Seeing how Katsuragi-kun acts usually, this means that most likely a fight escalated.

“A misunderstanding?” Noda-chan retorts. “What about poor Inoue-kun? He was shot in the back!” Inoue-kun might have been hurt, but maybe the report was exaggerated by his friends? Nobuo may be the only one in class, who actually knows how Katsuragi-kun ticks.

“I'm just saying, that... well...” Nobuo doesn't know how to explain himself, especially if he knows that the other party won't listen. Why did he even bring this up, when he should have known better?

“Hey, give Tetsukawa a break,” Kuga-kun stands up for him. “He's just overly optimistic. Sometimes it sounds like he's trying to troll you, but he's just that gullible.” While Nobuo certainly appreciates this act of friendship, those words hurt.

“Girls, calm down,” Harada-kun also sides with Nobuo. “We all know, that Katsuragi is trash, we can agree on that.” He also negotiates the worst compromise ever.

“Sounds right,” Toriyama-chan replies.

“Un,” Noda-chan agrees.

Why are people always so willing to trash-talk others? Sometimes Nobuo wonders if there is something inside humans that makes them do that.

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion rings out and a ball of fire is visible within the mountains. Feuerberg's soldiers have engaged a group of enemies. As this is within the mountains, it's most likely that the human scouts are fighting against a demon squad.

“Let's go,” Kuga-kun commands. “We see if it's doable, then we’ll decide whether to help or not.”

Baby steps. While Nobuo wants to help the soldiers, they need to see if they can handle it. Anything else would only end in disaster.

Also, this method boosts the courage of the entire party.

―○●○―

“This looks doable,” Harada-kun gives his opinion. They're about twenty minutes inside the mountains, following more and more fire signals in the sky, then the girls snuck ahead and got a picture of the situation.

Currently, two demons are fighting with ten soldiers, most likely two scout squads, the one who engaged, the other as reinforcements. The soldiers are more retreating than fighting back, using their advantage in mobility over those giant, spiked, double-headed centipedes, which seemed like monsters, except they were spitting acid while trash-talking. “HAHAHA! RUN! RUN! AND DIE! SPRRROOOOOOOO!!!”

The demons were already wounded, so an ambush should finish them off. “Let's do it. Everyone, equip your ranged weapons.” Nobuo changes into [Soldier] and prepares his crossbow, similar to his party's members.

Following Toriyama's instructions, they climb a plateau and get a look for themselves. The demons are leaving a trail of blood, while the scouts are evading some acid shots and preventing attacks by keeping their distance. Sometimes one of them will shoot a shortbow, but it's clear as day, that they're about to run out of arrows. The chitin plates of the demons look thick, so the scouts only try shots that won't endanger themselves and are sure to hit a soft spot.

“Kuga, you'll use your magic. What can you do at this distance?”

“[Slow], [Missile-magnet], and [Wind Weasel].”

“[Missile-magnet] on a wound, please.” [Missile-magnet] is an [Alteration]-spell, which will make a point glow in a yellow light, which attracts close missiles. It’s a perfect spell for a ranged onslaught.

“Yeah. Which one?”

“The closer one.”

“I'll begin.” [Missile-magnet] needs a bit of chanting before it’s ready, though [Slow] is much... slower to cast.

“OK, party! Let's take aim. We’ll wait for the spell.”

Be careful, don't take unnecessary risks. The credo of this party, but good advice in general. It's not like they'll help anyone if they just charge. The soldiers are professionals, so they'll be able to persevere.

Yellow glow! “[Sniper]!” Three bolts and an arrow fly in the direction of the demon, right into its already black-bleeding belly. All of them struck, most of them backed up with the power of a skill, the demon falls to the ground, still moving, but mostly just thrashing about.

Good riddance.

“Next one.” They repeat the procedure, another success. Now they finish off the demons with some more missiles and climb down to the soldiers. “I'm Harada Reiji, the leader of this hero-party.”

“Sergeant Schöffe, commander of the platoon. Could you spare some arrows?”

“Toriyama-chan, would you?” Every hero has a backpack, which can store items in a pocket dimension, which permits them to carry around many more arrows than usually possible.   Seeing how the party’s main weapon is the crossbow, it's stacked with an abundance of missiles.

“Sure.” As the [Hunter] of the party, Toriyama-chan is the only one who is better with bows than with crossbows, due to her [Bow]-ability. She recovers strapped packages of arrows from her backpack.

“Good. Please follow us, we had to leave someone behind due to a leg wound, but there are more demons around here.”

This is not good, it might be too risky. “Any idea what the demons are doing here?”

“I think that they're either scouts or an ambush-party.”

“So no invading army or the like?”

“Unlikely. Can we go now?”

“Erm...” Harada-kun looks at his party members, and Nobuo tries to convey his willingness to save one wounded soldier with his eyes alone. “Of course.”

“Thanks. Scouts, scatter!” The scouts begin to spread, while Schöffe leads the way. “They'll detect any demons so that we have time to regroup and strategize. I would welcome it if you can keep the volume down, I'll use a skill, which will enhance my hearing. That's why noises will be very distracting.”

This piques Noda-chan's interest: “What kind of skill is it?” As a [Thief], she can learn [Perception]-skills, same goes for Toriyama-chan and her [Hunter]-class.

“It's called [Ear Amp]. I'll use it now.” Of course, there is no sign that Schöffe just used a skill.

[Skills] are one of the things that makes a hero different from a native inhabitant of this fantasy world. A hero can learn many skills early, as long as the level and the AP (ability points) and rank are sufficient. A native person may also learn skills, but it takes longer, and they don't learn many. A regular soldier, for example, usually knows around three skills, as they're an essential part of battle-strategy. The foot-soldiers typically learn skills that boost their power within a formation, creating near impenetrable walls due to stacks of stacks of stacks of defense boosts for a shield wall or devastating offense boosts for pincer movements.

So, in war, numbers do matter. A proper formation can endure a magical explosion without a scratch due to the skills of the [Phalanx]-ability. That's why whatever Nobuo thought he knew about warfare has been toppled by the usages of skills.

As most soldiers only have about three skills in their entire career, there is a need for specialization. Therefore the scouts learn [Perception]- and [Stealth]-skills.

Schöffe nods a few times. Maybe he's listening to what his scattered squad says. Nobuo can only imagine how it is for the sergeant right now. “No sign of demons. Our peer is ahead, she has hidden, while we drew the attention from her.”

They pass the corpse of another demon, then Schöffe stops. “We separated around here. She can't be far...”

Toriyama-chan turns her head. “There!” Suddenly, a woman in her thirties becomes visible. Or more like, the colors of her skin, hair, and clothes reverts to normal, while she crawls from behind a large rock.

“Corporal, are you alright?”

“It hurts!” The leather armor around her left leg is corroded, her skin formed bubbles, this is making Nobuo almost reel. It looks like a bleeding sponge. “Thanks for coming back.”

“Of course. Heroes, are any of you proficient with [Divine Magic]?”

“Erm... me.” While Nobuo wants to throw up seeing it, he's the [Priest] of the party. “I'll try my best.”

“Boy,” the corporal says, “do you want to barf first?”

“No, don't worry.”

“I know, that it isn't pretty. Now imagine feeling it!”

“Sorry, I'm sorry.”

“Could you just get over here and do your damn thing!?”

“Yes! [Heal]!” As the target isn't a hero, the spell isn't as strong as Nobuo is used to, though even a hero with this kind of wound wouldn't walk away with just this simple spell. However, it would have ceased  bleeding immediately. “[Heal]!” After two more spells, the bleeding has stopped at least. Then Nobuo takes his first aid kit and bandages it while holding his breakfast back.

“Thanks, boy.” Using that as a signal, Nobuo walked around the rock she was hidden behind and said goodbye to his last two meals. It was too much, though he can be glad that he was able to endure it for so long.

“Corporal, can you walk?”

“No.”

“I'll help,” Harada-kun offers.

“Take her right side, and I'll help with the left one. We need to get her out here. We should be close to the foothills, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then let's move, my squad will keep a lookout. I'll use my hearing again.” This recovery mission works well. Careful, everything under control, and no- “Demons!” Shit!

What about the lookout? Ask the scout who is screaming, while flying their way, as if he was picked up and tossed in their direction. Actually, someone aimed him at Harada-kun, Schöffe, and the corporal!

“[Wind Pillow]!” Kuga-kun quickly erects a soft wind barrier. The flying scout hits it, just like a pillow, though it looks like it still hurts, but the most important part here is that he's slowed down and lands before the feet of the intended targets.

“Shucks.” Someone comes out, a scorpion-like being. She's covered in a strange, blueish chitin skin, and a long tail with a sting is dangling above her, but her facial features and her voice reminds them of a woman. She's bipedal but has six arms, a human pair, and two insect-like pairs.

Other demons like herself are showing, a total of four, one of them has a scout on its sting, the way he jerks around, suggests that he might have some sort of venom-shock.

“Ah, I love humans. They always come back for their people!” The scorpion-woman laughs while looking down on Nobuo and the others. “Which one should I kill first?”

This is an ambush! One that the scouts weren't able to foresee! Or are they all dead already!? Harada-kun immediately gives his command: “Retreat!” However, he is hit by a rock. A demon just flung a stone at him. He and the wounded scout fall to the ground, the impact was too much to bear, though Harada-kun gets back to his feet right afterward, his face contorted in pain.

Kuga-kun lift his hands: “[Wind Weasel]!” A blade of wind cuts through the air, but it shows next to no effect on the scorpion-demons. “Shit! [Wind Weasel]!” Kuga shoots another spell while walking backward.

Nobuo tries to help the wounded scout back on her feet. Sergeant Schöffe also helps. “Do you have her? Good.” Then he steps forward, drawing his bow: “[Swallarrows]!” Two arrows leave his bow, both of them are moving fast and free, like swallows. Each of them hit a scorpion-demon, cracking their chitin plates like they're nothing. “Go,” Schöffe commands, “I'll buy some time.” While his skill is undoubtedly powerful, it also takes its toll, and his breathing is already heavy.

“Sorry!” Nobuo says this to the sergeant and the wounded corporal, who he now lifts up and carries like a bag. His muscles are screaming, so he changes his class to [Soldier], and while this is making things better, a human body is still quite a piece of luggage. Good thing, that he can push this hero-body of his to its limits, even if things are becoming difficult and painful.

Two other scouts join the fight, the rest might already be dead. They shoot their replenished arrows like there is no tomorrow, no, maybe there isn't one for them. While the arrows prove useful against the goons, the blue scorpion woman is another story. Her natural armor seems to be cut from a different cloth.

She approaches Schöffe while gloating: “Too bad, too bad.” Two arrows are sticking in her body, but no blood is coming out, this is all that [Swallarrows] can accomplish here. “Well, for you. Have you any preferences on how I'll maim your body? Please do me a favor and don't die right away, yes?” The smile she has is one of a madwoman. “I want to enjoy you.” If humans smiled like that, everyone would consider them 'broken.'

Toriyama-chan, Noda-chan, and Kuga-kun sling some missiles and spells, before breaking into a run. Harada-kun is faster than everyone else, while Nobuo is struggling with the corporal: “Boy, let me go! I can still fight! And you can run faster without me!”

“No! They're fighting for you, so I won't let...” His voice breaks, as he wants to say 'so I won't let their sacrifice be in vain.'

He can abuse this body a bit. However, leaving her behind would torture his mind.

Suddenly, he sees something flying through the air. No, it's a giant leap! The scorpion-woman! She leaps another time, and a third one and lands before Harada-kun, who draws his greatsword and attacks her, only to be repelled by her chitin skin. “FUCK!” Then he's smacked in the face and flies some meters through the air.

The scorpion-woman has fresh blood on her tail-sting, which she gently licks. “Where are you going, my dears? You've just come, please, have fun with me. I'll do the same.” She tickles her sting erotically, though her intentions are clear as day. “If you stay, I won't need to hurry, like with the last one.”

Harada-kun stands up, despite this punch, he can still move, this shows how sturdy the body of a hero really is. However, he also realized, that he can't win this, that all of his survival options have been stolen. He can't talk, as she wants to kill him, she wants to kill him so much, that she's practically leaking her anticipation and joy. He can't fight, because he can't hurt her. He can't run, as she can do these crazy long leaps in no time.

So he freezes. Incapable of doing anything, his whole body hardens up, as if it wanted to exert damage control by toughening up as much as it can.

Toriyama-chan shoots her bow, but like the scout's arrows, hers doesn't do any visible damage either. Noda-chan joins with her crossbow to the same effect. Kuga's magic already proved to be futile. Still he fires his [Wind Weasel], his best offense spell.

Their party was too weak, and their slow and careful approach didn't work out at all. No, they just misjudged the situation, they should have been more cautious and denied the rescue quest. This thought is written all over the faces of the others, but Nobuo doesn't want to believe, that accepting this request was a mistake. “HARADA-KUN!” He screams while running up. The frozen [Warrior] slowly moves his head. “Snap out of it! This is not the time to falter! You may be a jerk often enough, but at least you stand up for it. Here!” Nobuo pushes the corporal into the arms of Harada-kun: “Now run! I'll keep her busy. Everyone, just run!”

Nobuo draws his sword, pointing it in the direction of the scorpion-demon, while the rest of his party don't even try to persuade him, no, they're actually all running with everything they have. That... kinda hurts.

“So you'll be the first one?” Nobuo feels his knees shaking, as the eyes and bloodlust of the demon are focused on him now. However, it's just for a moment, before she looks back to the running heroes. “However, why should I have one, if I can have four and a cripple at once?”

For the slightest of moments, Nobuo feels relief, as he thought he might survive this, however, it's immediately replaced by shame and a sense of duty. “Because you can’t have all of us. If you skip me, I'll run in the other direction, and you might miss me.”

“Good point, good point. So I'll just break you quickly and have a sevensome, some hot action, I and all of them.” She licks her non-existing lips before she walks towards Nobuo.

Oh god, Nobuo feels how it becomes warm in his trousers. Still, he braces himself, while slowly walking backward, the last one is because his instincts try to tell him, that he's about to do something stupid.

Then the demon leaps forward, hitting Nobuo with its tail, good thing that it isn't the stinger, just brute, blunt force of the thick end. Still, it feels like being hit by a truck, Nobuo loses ground contact for a while, before pathetically rolling on the ground, hitting his elbows, knees, and head.

It hurts, he feels how blood is coming from his nose, and his head wants to explode just from feeling the kind of pain a person feels when hitting the head against a wall with full force. He wants to vomit, he wants to cry. Still, he stands up. He's a hero, so this amount of pain isn't enough to make him stop moving.

This just makes the demon happier: “Oh, you're standing! Why is that? Are you feeling it? A human, who feels it? Ah, no, maybe you're plainly stubborn? Well, let's try it.” She hits him another time, for the same effect. “You're still moving? Great! Now let me hear you cry.” Saying this, she slams her tail on the still prone Nobuo.

“argh...” His outcry is surprisingly quiet, even though the pain is so intense. “uuh...” Nobuo swings his sword, and he hits the tail, which deflects the blade back into his own body. “ueee...”

“Wow, you're still trying to attack me. You feel it, you must feel it. Ah, a human who feels it! Make me happy!” With euphoria, she breaks his legs. The sound resonates through Nobuo's whole body, it's an ugly sound, which causes him to cough and drool bitter spit.

Then he feels the pain for a millisecond, before it’s suddenly shut down, maybe because of his hero-body, maybe because of functions of a human body he doesn't know. This makes waving his blade easier. “ah! iiieh!” Pitiful noises come from his mouth, as he tries the best to do something, to do anything.

Why does his body feel so strange? Shouldn't he be full of terror? No, for some reason, despite his pitifulness he still knows that he has to buy time, more and more time. So he attacks to keep her interested, though the next thing she does is break his right arm, the one with the sword. Now the pain is too much, it's like tearing through veil, and suddenly everything comes back at once. The tremendous amount of pain paralyzes Nobuo, his hearing and sight shut off, while the scorpion-tail keeps hammering on him time and time again, breaking one bone each time. “Feel, feel, feel! Yes, feel it!”

After he feels like everything that could be broken is kaput, the demon lifts him up. Gravity hurts! It pulls on his limbs, which cause immeasurable pain. There is nothing Nobuo can do, but “*Spit*” A single spit, a mixture of saliva, blood, and gastric juices, right into her face.

Five seconds. This action bought five more seconds, as the demon stared at him blankly, maybe even not knowing how to react. “You know what? I want to have a look at what you're made off.”

'Ah, so that's how I look on the inside.' Is the last coherent thought Tetsukawa Nobuo ever had.

―○●○―

Fort Abwehr, a fort at the border to Daemonicus. Harada Reiji, Noda Yukino, Kuga Shigeru, Toriyama Chidori returned with Corporal Schierhorn. All of them made the mistake of looking back, seeing how Tetsukawa Nobuo bought them time, enough time for them to escape. They only saw up to the part of the broken limbs, but nobody had any illusions. Their party-member, their friend was dead.

Still, he had saved them. He sacrificed himself for them. Heavy emotions swirl in the hospital at the base, while the four remaining heroes are waiting for their check-up. They're just one of the many groups that experienced a demon assault. Many small skirmishing groups have formed, attacking the soldiers here and there at the border. Though primarily aiming for the scouts, many demons couldn't help but attack larger and better-equipped groups as well.

Amid all the suffering and wounded soldiers with several healers, priests, and clerics going from one to another, the four Japanese are talking about what they witnessed.

“I never realized,” Kuga starts, “how noble Tetsukawa was. Damn! I... Despite how I treated him, he still...” He wants to finish his sentence, but his throat hurts, it hurts so much, that he can't force his words out.

“Tetsukawa-kun...” Noda-chan has already cried all her tears, but she still sobs, while holding Toriyama-chan in her arms.

“Dammit!” Harada blames how powerless he was... no, how careless he was... “I should- because of me!” He actually didn't think much of Tetsukawa, but while Harada showed how pathetic he becomes if things get tough, Tetsukawa showed how brave and reliable he could be.

“Tetsu... Nobuo-kun!” Toriyama-chan might be the worst off from everyone. She's still bawling, she was a kind girl in her heart, after all.

Harada realized, what he lacked. It was Tetsukawa who showed him, showed him what a half-ass he was about everything. His whole life, Harada has been a half-ass. Everything but baseball was just a collection of non-commitments and half-hearted tries, as if he just needed to be good in one thing to succeed in life, while everything else wouldn't really matter.

On the other hand, Tetsukawa, he... he surely did everything to get the most out of life. He had such a fulfilling life that he didn't need to brag about it. In fact, he could even throw that life away, living a life without any regrets.

Something inside Harada moved into place. A gear, that was stuck his whole life finally moved. Yes, Tetsukawa was someone else. He was better, like a saint. Yes, he was a saint! Always one who listened to all sides, always someone who would even protect the likes of Katsuragi. Harada was just a tight-ass jerk, who just thought he was right all the time, while he was wrong all along.

One piece after another is set, and a whole picture starts to form. Harada has a feeling he decided to call 'enlightenment.' Others would call it 'madness’, resulting from too much stress, minor traumatic experience, and a huge shock to finish.

However, those people were wrong because Harada now sees the truth. “Guys,” he says, his eyes full of fervor, “I've figured it out!”