--Vice Captain of the Cathedral Knights and Second Squadron.

　This position is not a light one.
　The second squad that guards the Holy City of Schmerz, the keystone and capital of the Church State.
　In order to become the second in command, you need not only connections, but also ability and achievements.

　Leo William Disfrender is serving in such a position at the young age of twenty-five.
　The reason for this is that Leo has everything that makes him worthy of serving as a second-in-command.
　The recommendation of the former commander of the 2nd Squadron, his outstanding combat skills, and his achievements that qualify him to serve as a second-in-command.

　And--.

◆.

　Leo kicks through the door and appears in the room.
　With a gentle hand to support Killier, Leo points the sword's cutting edge at Marcus.

''What do you mean by this?''

　A worm cut off from Marx chittered around on the expensive carpet.
　A pained expression appeared on Marcus' face at Leo's quiet question.

'You ...... why are you here?'
I received a letter. I received a letter saying you've been using your men to commit crimes.

　After finishing his knightly duties, Leo notices that he has received a letter.
　In it, he found a letter detailing that Marx's men were about to attack a child in an orphanage.
　But if that had been all, Leo would not have acted immediately.
　But if that was all, Leo wouldn't have acted immediately, because letters to this effect are often delivered as harassment.

　But when he saw a certain woman's name listed, Leo had no choice but to move.

'It's those two!　Give me some trouble.

　I don't know what they're planning to do, but it's probably those two.
　Marx's teeth gnash just barely as he realizes the identity of the sender.

'I'll ask you again, including about the letter. What do you mean by that?

　Leo asks, with his sword at the ready.
　Leo says, without saying it, that he will cut off Marcus if he makes an unintentional move.

'Gu......'
...... Mr. Leo. This man is causing a lot of trouble for a lot of people in the compound.

　Killier has replaced the reluctant Marcus and revealed his misdeeds.
　A power that he himself had not been aware of before, "Holy Hearing".
　Kirier told Leo everything he had heard in this mansion.

　That many sub-humans are being killed in the house.
　Many women are being used as playthings for Marcus and his men.
　Banned drugs are being used.
　That many women are still trapped in the basement of the mansion.

'Kirie, it's ......'

　Leo couldn't help but exclaim at Killier's words.
　It was an unbelievable content - a content that was unbelievable.
　No, it was a content that he did not want to believe.

　But there was no reason for Kirier to lie in such a situation.
　Leo witnessed that Marx was about to attack Killier.

'...... Huh.'

　Marcus let out a big sigh as Leo froze.
　He stroked the area where the tentacles had been growing and let out his frustration.

'Good grief. You're really messing with my instincts at every turn, Disflender.'
...... That can be taken as an admission, right?
Ha. Yeah, I'll admit it.

　With a snorting laugh, Marx easily admitted his actions.

...... You are...

　Marcus said in a calm tone of voice, as if he hadn't taken offense.

'I, you see, cannot tolerate this city that allows sub-humans to wallow in it. This is the Holy City. It is not a place for unintelligent beasts to enter. That's why I'm weeding out those people.

　That's why they are capturing subhuman women, using them as comforters and killing them.
　Both Leo and Killier couldn't help but shut up at the fearlessness of Marcus, who spoke about the situation so matter-of-factly.

I'm going to be the captain of the first squad soon. I'm going to use the anti-subhuman knights and Christians to eradicate subhumans from this city in earnest. Those beasts can gather in a cesspool like the Confederacy or some other cesspool.
............
'I don't need anyone who won't help me with that. Knights and Christians who disagree with me are not worth living for. As a cathedral knight, I have a mission to clean up this holy city.

　In Marx's wariness, Leo is reminded of the results of his own investigation.
　There had been cases of missing persons in this city for some time.
　The incidence of these cases has increased significantly since Marx came to this city as the captain of the second squad.

　It is believed that George and Lily were responsible for the missing cases, based on the large number of bodies found in the orphanage.
　But ...... that was just the tip of the iceberg.

"So ...... you're doing this to exclude sub-humans, and this is what you're doing--
Wha...

　Marx's face crumpled into a gnarled expression, and a look of delight floated across his face.

'-- Did you think I was moving for such a troublesome reason?

　Marx easily overruled his earlier words.

'I simply don't like sub-humans, you know. I just don't like sub-humans, they are an eyesore. They have the same feral spirit as the humans. They can serve me as slaves or s*x toys.
Na......
''I killed those who disagreed with me simply because they were irritated. Who do you think you are to say no to me when I go out of my way to make you one of my friends? Those who don't do what I want don't deserve to live. You are in my way.

　With his hands outstretched, Marcus speaks eloquently, as if it were natural to do so.
　Anger boils up in Leo's chest.
　That logic has no regard for others at all.
　As a knight defending people, or even as a human being, this is an unthinkable statement.

The other people are not your toys. You can't allow them to kill you for your own reasons.
No, you're allowed.

　At Leo's indignation, Marcus sneered, "Blue-blue.

'-- this is my life. I will decide what is allowed and what is not.

　When Leo is exasperated, Marx continues.

He continues, "Huh, you should think about it. You only have one life to live.　What's wrong with doing what you want to do?

　Marx played with his fingers on his own long nose beard.

I want money. I want to eat good food. I want to f*ck good girls. You want to get rid of people you don't like. You want to be great. You want to be respected. To take what others have and make it yours. You want to be the happiest you can be. You want to look at other people's misery. You want to have a more joyful life than anyone else--a natural desire if you're born human, right?

　He lined up his own desires in a torrential fashion, and Marx said that it was normal to do so.
　So he justified his own evilness by saying that what he was doing was permissible.

　Marx spoke of a desire that people do indeed have.
　But how many people did this man sacrifice in order to make it happen?

Don't you have any idea how other people feel: ......!
Are you stupid? How could I possibly know? I don't have the ability to use that kind of magic, you know. And you know what? You're not going to be able to get your hands on any of them.　Then why should I care about others?

　It's no good, Leo realized.
　This man is fatally finished.
　If I had to describe Marx in one word, it would be 'a lump of selfishness'.
　The only thing he can think about is satisfying his own desires without regard for others, a lump of selfishness.

Is that all you want to say ......?
Yeah. You'll be...

　Gouging.
　A damp sound echoed in the room, like a finger drilling through ripe fruit.
　The source of the sound, Leo realized, was Marx.

　The large Marx's body writhed like clay.

Is that all you've got to say?

　Neck, shoulders, abdomen, back, both arms.
　Every part of the body rises with a wet sound, revealing worms as large as a single human being.
　Each one has a circle, a mouth, and sharp fangs, and they writhe and wriggle.

'...... you monster.'

　Its hideous appearance was no longer human.
　Marx held out his arms as if proud of his disfigured body.

'A monster?　No, no, no, Disfrender!　This is the power of heroes all over again!　It is the power of usurpation that consumes any attack.

　Worms sprouting from his body rushed to Leo in response to the agitated Marx.

'Kirie, I'm backing off.

　At the same time as he stood for Kirie, magic power erupted from Leo's entire body.
　The amount of magical energy that makes you feel as if a whirlwind was blowing through the room - immediately afterwards, Leo swung down the sword clad in magical power.

"Hook--!

　A slash of dazzling magical power that seemed to cover the entire room.
　With a single swing, the worms that were trying to bite into Leo are turning into chunks of meat.
　A caustic sword technique worthy of the second-in-command of the second unit.

----

　A merciless blow, swallowing Marcus in the line of fire...

...... what

　Immediately after, it was swallowed up without a trace into his body.
　Leo's eyes widened at the disappearance of the full force of the blow.

'Good magic, thank you!

　Marx shouted with glee as he leveled a blow that cut both sides of even iron.

'Leo-kun, look out!　That person has the power to absorb magic!
That's what I'm talking about, Disfrender.
......!

　Marx's worm-clad body disappears from Leo's view.
　Instantly realizing that he had been sneaked into his own blind spot, Leo barely defended against the blow.

''Hmph.''

　Marx sniffs and floods Leo with worms sprouting from his body.
　In parallel, Marx swings his sword, which he has pulled out at some point, into a sideways cleave.
　The worm and Marx's own simultaneous attack.

''--!

　After dodging the blade with a light body movement, Leo slashed down every single worm that came in one after another.
　Several worms fell to the ground, convulsed and then stopped moving.


　Marx has enough skill to be worthy of a captain.
　The power that comes from experience and training is more than an ordinary knight can stand against.

　But Leo's skills were fleshed out by Marx.
　His blood-soaked effort and his own talent.
　The combination of these two things allowed Leo to cross over to Marx, who even manipulated the worm.
　That's how much power Leo has.

　But.
　It's only a case of fighting on equal terms.

　When the sliced off worm reached ten.
　The movement of the worm that had been aiming at Leo until then changed abruptly.

''Na......''

　Ignoring Leo, he started to aim at Killier, who was backing away.

　Kirie uses holy chanting magic to put up a protective wall.
　Leo tries to use his magic to protect Kirie, trying to use his magic on the spur of the moment.

''-- "Usurpation of Magic Techniques (Spell Divaur)"

　The huge worm that grew out of Marcus' back devoured the magic power of those two men without a trace.
　Forcibly deprived of their magical power, a sense of exhaustion washed over Kirie and Leo's bodies.

''Hooray!''

　Once again, the worms rushed to Killier.
　Turning to Killier, who was unable to move, Leo received the attack.

'Disflender. You're really blue!　I'll give you credit for skill!　But you know what?　It's too easy to understand!

　From there, the fight was one-sided.
　Instead of aiming directly at Leo, Worm relentlessly targeted Kirie.
　Unable to use magic, Leo had to withstand the onslaught using only his bare physical abilities.

　Gradually, the wounds on Leo's body increased.
　The worms ate away at his flesh, and Marx's blades sliced through his entire body.
　By the time ten minutes had passed, Leo was bleeding from his entire body.

'Leo-kun......!

　Kirie has no way to fight except through chanting magic.
　She can't even heal Leo's wounds.
　All you can do is watch your childhood friend getting hurt.

''Leo...... you.''

　Kirie bites her teeth at her own helplessness.
　Pathetic. It's pathetic.
　It's always my own indiscretion that causes Leo to get hurt.
　You can't help Leo, no matter how much you regret it.

'I'm sorry ...... Leo-kun, I'm sorry .......

　Then, when Kirie was about to start crying.

'Don't cry,'

　With a bloody body, Leo said to Kirie without turning around.

'There's plenty of room!'

　Marx's attack struck Leo directly.
　The worm's fangs gouged out the flesh of his side and fresh blood spurted out of Leo's body.
　Leo turned back to Kirier, who was about to scream.

''-- I don't want to see Kirie cry.

　Then Leo smiled like he did in that forest.

◆

　Leo William Disfrender is a coward.

　Afraid of being angry.
　Afraid of being hurt.
　Afraid of failing.
　Afraid of being hated.

　I was afraid of being scared.
　I smelled like donkeys, had a bad point of view, and wasn't very good at talking.
　I couldn't join the village children's games because I was afraid they wouldn't like me, because I knew I was like that.
　I couldn't even say that I wanted to play another game.

　Then I found myself alone.
　Everyone made fun of Leo and no one would play with him.
　When the time came, I got impatient and talked to him, asking him to mix.

'No. I'm so boring with Leo.
"I'd rather hunt for bugs than talk to you!

　He rejected me.

　I told myself I didn't have a choice.
　I looked at the children laughing happily and gave up that I couldn't do it myself.
　I told myself that I was not brave enough to do anything about it, and that I couldn't do anything about it.

　In truth, I was lonely.
　But I didn't know what to do.

　I wasn't as fast as everyone else.
　I can't climb a tree like everyone else.
　I couldn't talk a lot like everyone else.

　My parents were disgusted with me and I didn't have anyone to talk to.

　I thought I was going to be alone for a long time.

　So.

Talking with you makes me feel at home.
So, I'd like to be able to talk to you.

　I was glad when Killier said that.
　There was someone who approved of me.
　That made me want to cry.

''You're not such a ......!　You went into the forest!''
"Kirie is still in the forest ......!

　The day I went into the forest to explore.　
　The day I returned to the village, Kirie was gone and all hell broke loose.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find the right one for you.

'Hey, Leo!　Where are you going?!''

　The next thing I knew, I was running towards the forest.
　I don't remember what I was thinking about at the time.
　I don't remember what I was thinking at the time, but my body was moving on its own.

　I ran around the forest and went to the back.
　There, I saw Kirie being attacked by a demon.

''Lullllllll.''

　-- scary.

　A howling, furious monster.
　A demon so dangerous that even adults would be eaten.
　My legs were trembling and I felt as if I was going to run away at any moment.

　Because I'm a coward.
　It's natural.
　If I stepped in front of a demon like this, I would surely be eaten in the blink of an eye.

　If that happened, it would definitely hurt.
　I would probably die.
　That would be very scary.

　I shivered like that and thought.

"Help me: ......

　Killier's words blew everything away.

　Demons are scary.
　I'm afraid of pain.
　I'm afraid of dying.

　But.

　--I'm afraid of Kirie's disappearance because it's even scarier.


　With a wooden stick in his hand, Leo protects Kirie from the demons.
　The demons are attacking him.
　Of course, Leo is unable to defeat the demon.
　The wooden stick is broken and knocked to the ground, and Leo is helpless.

　He dies.
　Just before that, Leo saw it.
　A lot of knights in blue armor.

　The Seido Knights.
　Warriors who defeat the evildoers and protect the kingdom of God.
　The knights who rushed in and defeated the demons in the blink of an eye.

　When Leo saw their backs, he vowed to be a good-looking knight.
　I'll be that good looking knight.

　--It's not just a matter of time before you're able to get your hands on it.


◆

...your armor will repel any attack.

　It was a snatched voice.

'--the sword will cut off any enemy.

　But it was a powerful voice that echoed throughout the room.

'...... disfrender, you, you can't be ......!

　Marx's complexion changes.
　He sprouts the worm from his body and tries to turn it toward Leo.

'Because there's a place I want to protect. I have someone to protect.'

　But it was too late.

"We will not bow down.

　An enormous amount of magical power blows around the room.
　If Leo's blow just now was a whirlwind, this magic power is truly a storm.
　Marx, Worm, and even Kirie are unable to move.

''Therefore, we--''


　Knight of the Saint's Hall and Deputy Captain of the Second Squadron.
　There's a reason why he was able to become a deputy captain at a young age.
　It's because Leo has everything that makes him worthy of serving as a second-in-command.
　The recommendation of the former 2nd Squadron commander, outstanding combat skills, and a track record worthy of serving as vice commander.

　And--.



''-- [Knights of Unrivaled]



　Mental magic.
　Because it has reached a station that many knights have failed to reach.



I'll protect Kirie: ----!