Chapter 61: Decisive Battle at Ressal — A Vow Between Friends

A gale swept across the battlefield.

The hero, wielding a massive sword crafted to slay demons, roared and spun around, cutting straight into the bandits from the front.

“Give Irine back, damn you!!!”

With the hero’s physical prowess and Karl’s swordsmanship combined, the man was becoming a legend.

Karl unleashed slashes in every direction as he raced forward, as if running through an empty field, drawn by the voice of Irine.

Though Karl had been assigned the role of decoy, he didn’t think of himself as a disposable pawn. If things went well, he even intended to rescue Irine by himself.

“I’ll crush you all! Is there anyone who dares stand in my way!?”

“Damn it, call the Boss! We can’t handle this guy!!”

“If you don’t stand in my way, I’ll be passing through!”

He paid no mind to any escape route.

He simply slashed his way forward, drawn toward the direction where his comrade Irine’s voice rang out.

‘Hoh, more than I expected.’

“Boss!! We can’t hold out much longer!”

‘Looks like we’ve hooked a big one. Excellent, just excellent.’

Karl’s rampage couldn’t be ignored.

The bandits scrambled to send reinforcements to stop him.

“…Halt.”

“There you are—Lev’s big sister. I’m gonna clock you, don’t whine about it later.”

Among them, of course, stood Silent Blade Rey—the one who had once already taken Karl down.

---

“…Whoa, was Karl always that insane?”

“When it comes to his friends, he shows strength beyond normal. Don’t mistake the last fight—when we caught him off guard—for his true power.”

Ryoga’s eyes widened in shock at Karl’s overwhelming performance.

The last time they fought, Ryoga had seen Karl holding his own against over ten bandits, despite being wounded.

He had thought Karl was a capable swordsman—but not this kind of one-man-army.

“So… what do we do now?”

“R-Right. We’re going to circle around through the woods and launch a surprise attack. We’ll rescue Irine-tan and retreat immediately.”

Saying that, Ryoga pointed deeper into the forest.

His squad, specialized in ambushes, had no intention of engaging the enemy. Their goal was purely to rescue Irine.

It was a plan only possible for those familiar with the terrain.

Fortunately—or perhaps tragically—Irine’s screams still echoed through the forest, making it easy to pinpoint her location even with limited visibility.

“We have to save her before her spirit breaks.”

“Yeah.”

If they could recover her firepower, they might just be able to overturn the numbers disadvantage. In fact, this was likely their only real shot at victory.

“Can we break the enemy’s brainwashing?”

“…Technically, I do know the spell. I’m not exactly great at it, though, so I’ll need a bit of time?”

“Got it. If Irine-tan’s in enemy hands, we can assume she’s already brainwashed. Once we pull her out, we’ll have Sakura check on her first.”

Running through the dark forest, Ryoga calmly pieced together his plan.

“Archers, you’re on support. Keep firing at the enemies on the left and right of our breach point.”

“Roger that, but… why left and right?”

“We’ll isolate the breach point tactically. That way, even if we charge in, our escape route won’t get cut off.”

Thanks to Karl drawing all the attention, Irine’s guard was thinning.

He was fulfilling his role as decoy to perfection.

“No one moves until everyone’s in position. This is it—steel yourselves, this is our moment of truth.”

“…Roger that, Boss!”

They had to respond to Karl’s efforts.

With morale high, Ryoga’s vigilante squad moved swiftly to prepare for their assault.

---

While the vigilante corps was preparing to storm the enemy stronghold, Karl had already begun slicing his way into their headquarters.

"This way, Silent Blade!"

"...Don't run!"

Learning from their last encounter, Karl made sure never to step into Rey's striking range during the fight.

So long as Karl didn’t approach him, Rey—despite his superior sword skills—had no chance of catching up to Karl’s physical prowess.

"Aniki, if this keeps up, he's going to break through our encirclement!"

"Kh...!"

Just as Maika had taught him, Karl stuck rigidly to the tactic of forcing Rey onto the offensive.

He held Rey back with flying slashes, never stepping forward himself, refusing to engage in the close quarters that Rey specialized in.

"...The enemy won’t engage me head-on. Boss, if this keeps up—"

『Tch. Pathetic, really.』

Rey was a counter-style swordsman.

He was a fighter who only showed his true strength when attacked. Chasing a retreating opponent was never his forte.

The decoy, Karl, had nearly reached the point of reclaiming Irine.

『...Guess it’s time to throw a few more cards on the table. Rey, just hold out a little longer.』

"Much obliged, Boss."

Irine, who had been taken, now lay just ahead.

None among the bandits could stop Karl’s relentless charge.

That blazing advance—

"...!"

"Hmph."

—was finally brought to a halt by a small, sickly-looking swordsman who blocked his path.

Sensing immediately from their stance and footwork that this was no ordinary opponent, Karl kicked off the ground and widened the distance.

Taking a quick scan of the surroundings, he spotted others—an axe-wielder with a monstrous physique, a muscular martial artist—clearly bandits of an entirely different level.

『Those ones? They were once famed heroes. A great general from a foreign land, a legendary martial artist, and the youngest ever champion of a swordsmanship tournament. Quite the magnificent collection, wouldn’t you say?』

"...You’ve got rotten taste."

『You’ll be joining them soon enough. Try to get along with your seniors, alright~?』

They were once warriors—men who’d carved their names into legend through martial prowess, challenging evil wherever they found it—and ultimately falling to the bandits.

And now, the martial arts they had dedicated their lives to were nothing more than part of the bandit boss’s collection.

The sheer vileness of it made Karl grimace.

"Ooh! Our elites are finally stepping in!"

"That swordsman's done for now!"

These “corpses of heroes” were the bandits’ trump card. With Silent Blade Rey unable to hold the line, they had no choice but to play it.

Not that they’d been holding back out of strategy—some of these bodies were over ten years old.

And even with the utmost care from necromancers, the passage of time slowly rotted the dead.

"...Out of my way!"

Putting everything into a single blow, Karl slashed into one of the hero corpses.

The boy swordsman, long since dead, tried to parry Karl’s strike with refined, almost artistic blade work.

...But.

"Raaaagh!!"

The sharpness of his swordplay was a far cry from what it had been in life.

With movement dulled by decay, the “corpse” was cleaved clean in two by Karl.

"...Huh?"

The moment Karl cut down the boy's corpse, he saw it—

The youth’s severed body, dropping his sword as strength left his limbs.

His eyes, as he collapsed, wore a faintly relieved expression.

—

At last... I'm free.

—

The warrior’s severed remains melted into the ground.

Even the most skilled necromancer couldn’t maintain a “damaged hero of the past” any longer.

"...Yeah. Of course. You just wanted to be released all this time, didn’t you?"

Behind him, Silent Blade Rey was closing in.

Ahead stood the corpses of the fallen heroes.

"...Then I won’t hold back."

In their prime, any one of these dead warriors could have easily overwhelmed Karl.

He wouldn’t have stood a chance against them while they lived.

"..."

But now their movements were dull, sluggish.

To Karl, it felt like the greatest possible insult to the martial arts they had once dedicated their lives to perfecting.

Karl exhaled quietly, and met the oncoming sword flashes head-on.

---

"The key to a successful operation is speed. Prioritize a swift engagement and an even swifter retreat."

Thanks to Karl’s deep incursion into enemy lines, Ryoga was able to slip through unnoticed to the vicinity where Irine was being held.

"Karl has completely drawn the enemy’s attention. There won’t be a better chance than this. We’re going in."

"Understood, boss!"

Ryoga then split his forces into a small assault team and a support team of archers.

The role of the support team was to “secure the escape route” and “divide the enemy.”

"Anyone in Karl’s party able to blend into the assault squad?"

"Sorry, I’m strictly long-range. I mean, I’m an archer, after all."

"The only ones in our group who can really hold their own in close combat are Lev and Karl, don’t you think? Irine still seems like a novice."

"Got it. Then support us from the rear."

Maika, Sakura, and the Master were assigned to the support team.

The assault team, led by Ryoga, was composed of the most skilled members of the vigilante corps.

"Karl’s crazy. He’s already right in front of them."

"Better be careful not to hit him by mistake. Depending on how things go, we might have him fall back and regroup with us."

Karl had already cut in to within a few dozen meters of the designated breach point.

The bandits’ defense was formidable, and it seemed even he was struggling to push further.

"…That female mage. Could she be the boss?"

"You’ve got sharp eyes, Maika. …She does look like she’s giving orders."

Maika had spotted a creepy female mage near Irine.

While Irine thrashed about in madness, clutching her head, the woman stood nearby, holding up her staff and sneering.

"If we can, we take her out. But we’re not risking overextending for it."

"Right. Rescuing Irine-tan takes top priority."

They weren’t about to gamble their lives on a hunch that this might be the boss.

Ryoga locked eyes with the writhing Irine ahead of him.

"Alright, operation start."

At his command, a hail of arrows rained down on the bandit stronghold.

---

With the volley as cover, Ryoga and his team charged forward.

His goal was to withdraw from the battlefield within minutes. The plan was to subdue Irine with a dose of sedative, carry her to Sakura, and flee into the depths of the forest.

"Hang tight, Irine-tan."

The bandits were thrown into utter chaos by the surprise attack.

Taking advantage of the confusion, the well-trained vigilantes secured an entry point.

Ryoga finally reached the space right before Irine.

"…"

Clink—the sound of a sword’s guard.

Just as Ryoga stepped in, a small girl’s sudden strike grazed his cheek.

"Oh, right. I forgot you were here."

"…You’re not getting past me."

He narrowly dodged and turned to face the enemy.

Standing protectively in front of the agonized Irine was the silent girl, Lev.

"Hey, Lev-tan. I know it’s probably useless to say this, but… Doesn’t it bother you that your boss is torturing Irine-tan back there?"

"Liar. Irine is under Ressal’s curse right now. The boss is doing her best to lift it…"

"So that’s how they’ve twisted it in your head."

The girl’s perception had been severely warped. So this was the bandits’ style. Persuading her would be tough.

To be frank, Lev was strong. While still a notch below the silent swordswoman Rey, her close-quarters combat abilities were top-tier.

"I’ll handle this girl. You guys secure Irine-tan!"

"Roger!"

It would take multiple people to restrain Irine. Past training had made it clear that she possessed considerable brute strength.

They had to administer the sedative to neutralize her resistance, carry her together, and flee quickly.

"…I won’t let you take Irine!!"

"We’re taking her before she gets broken beyond repair."

Ryoga brandished a dagger and lunged at Lev.

His combat style was hit-and-run, capitalizing on his nimble frame.

As the leader of a squad of elites, his combat skills were nothing short of first-class.

"Here, flash powder!"

“—Cough!?!”

But that wasn’t all. Unlike Lev, who had been trained in formal one-on-one combat, Ryoga would use any means to win—even cheap tricks.

Without warning, he hurled a fine powder made from pungent medicinal herbs into Lev’s eyes, blinding her.

"And one more for good measure!"

Following through, he landed a solid kick to her solar plexus, sending her flying several meters.

"Irine-tan secured!?"

"Yes, boss!"

"Good! Fall back!"

Everything had gone off with smooth precision.

Truth be told, he would’ve liked to retrieve Lev as well, but rescuing Irine came first. With her back, they could figure out the rest later.

Holding her stomach, Lev crouched in pain.

Meanwhile, Ryoga turned his back on the suffering girl and calmly escaped along the retreat route secured by his comrades.

His plan had gone off without a hitch—

『Ahh, that’s a problem, isn’t it?』

—or so it had seemed.

Where had she been hiding all this time?

A woman with eyes eerily devoid of light had, at some point, wrapped her arms around Ryoga from behind.

『Hmm... not bad. You look like you could make a fine pawn, too.』

“…Who the hell are you?!”

『That noble girl was certainly a threat. But that little brat? She’s done for. The mental trauma she suffered is beyond repair. Thanks for going out of your way to retrieve worthless trash. Real thoughtful of you.』

There was no vitality in her voice.

The chill running down Ryoga’s spine was unmistakable.

This woman didn’t feel human at all.

『And you made a grave mistake.』

Ryoga’s body wouldn’t move, as if it were bound by invisible chains.

He had just been touched by a mage. Whatever magic she used, it wouldn’t be strange if he was already under a powerful spell.

“O-Oyabun!!”

“Forget me! Go ahead!! Get Irine-tan out of here!”

Ryoga had given up on his own escape.

As long as Irine was safe, Maika would surely be able to come up with a solid strategy using her as the key.

As captain of the vigilante corps, getting captured was a disgrace—but even so, the results they'd achieved were more than enough.

“I don’t care what happens to me. You guys focus on wiping out the Villain Clan—!”

『I don’t think that’s gonna happen, y’know?』

Per Ryoga’s orders, the vigilante members began to retreat.

Still, they kept glancing back at him, as if reluctant to leave.

『You really didn’t notice, huh?』

“…Notice what, Villain?”

『That you’re the most important person in this entire city. Far more terrifying than the swordswoman who carved her way here or the noble girl with her high-level magic.』

The boss of the Villain Clan had seen the truth.

『Ryoga, Captain of the Vigilante Corps. That gang of lowlifes and fools you led—they only functioned as a proper fighting force because you were at the center of it all. Of everyone here, the one I feared most wasn’t the noble girl or the swordswoman—it was you.』

“…You sure think highly of me.”

『Think highly? Not at all. This is a fair and accurate assessment. Thanks for getting caught in place of the noble. And now, I’m going to take my time… nice and slow…』

The boss of the Villain Clan grinned with delight.

She placed her hand gently on Ryoga’s head.

『And break you to pieces.』

---

“What? Ryoga got captured!?”

“He said securing Irine was the top priority and offered himself as a decoy, then—”

“W-what an idiot! That guy!”

After hearing the vigilantes’ report that Irine had been safely secured and brought back, Maika went pale.

Apparently, the captain of the vigilante corps, Ryoga, had been captured in Irine’s place.

“Let me see Irine. I’ll start the treatment right away.”

“Sakura… how long will it take until Irine can move again?”

“She’s been put into a coma. I doubt she’ll wake up for at least half a day.”

“I figured….”

Maika sighed quietly as she looked in the direction where Ryoga had been captured.

“...It’s no use. There’s no way to get him back—at least not until Irine wakes up.”

“Then, doesn’t that mean we have no choice but to retreat?”

“If we do that, Ryoga’s as good as dead. He’ll be lost to us.”

Maika, who had hesitated not a second to abandon Irine, now showed a moment’s hesitation.

Sakura, who had been sure Maika would ditch him instantly, was surprised by this hesitation.

“You threw this girl aside without a second thought, yet you're really invested in Ryoga, huh.”

“That’s because when it was Irine, we still had plenty of ways to save her. But with him, it’s hopeless. Leaving him behind is the same as abandoning Ressal. Of course I’m going to hesitate.”

But the hesitation lasted only a heartbeat.

Maika quickly issued the retreat order to everyone present.

“Why can’t we save him? Once Irine recovers, we could rescue Ryoga together—”

“With his fragile, tofu-like mentality? There’s no way he could endure the torture Irine went through.”

Maika herself had already packed her bow and was preparing to retreat.

Unusually, her expression showed a trace of regret.

“It’s my responsibility. I’m the one leaving Ryoga behind. Everyone, follow me.”

And then—immediately after Maika’s declaration.

A scream of anguish burst out from the captured Ryoga, echoing across the entire battlefield.

---

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!”

A scream of unbearable sorrow.

The wail of someone drowning in despair after losing something dear.

“So that’s it… Ryoga’s trauma from losing his little sister…”

Sakura understood what Maika meant.

The enemy’s magic was a curse that dragged up trauma. For someone carrying pain as deep as Ryoga’s, it would be enough to shatter their mind instantly.

“...That’s not it.”

“What?”

But.

Maika’s thoughts were vastly different from Sakura’s.

“I’ve actually been wondering about something ever since I first met Ryoga.”

“Wondering about what?”

“About him…”

It was unmistakable.

A sign that she bore a trauma deeper than anyone else’s.

“R-Y-O-G-A’s bone structure—is that of a girl, you know.”

---

…There’s no way he could’ve died.

“No… no…! That can’t be!!”

…There’s no way that brother could’ve died.

“Big brother… big brother couldn’t have died!!”

The girl couldn’t accept it.

Her beloved older brother—the one who led the vigilantes and was starting to rebuild Ressal—there’s no way he could’ve died before completing his mission.

“────He’s not dead!! Big brother is not dead!!”

And so, what this girl—who had respected her brother more than anyone—chose to do was:

To erase the fact of his death.

To preserve the peace of her own heart.

『…Sayori-san? What’s going on? This is the vigilante corps HQ.』

‘We’re very sorry about your brother… We’ve already returned all of his belongings—』

She cut her hair short and headed straight to the vigilante base, just like she always did.

『What are you talking about?』

『Huh?』

In front of her brother’s former subordinates, she declared:

『I’m Ryoga. Got it?』

---

"Back then, Sayori-san seemed like she might fall apart if we left her alone. At first, I just went along with her out of necessity."

"…You're saying she turned out to be a much more capable leader than expected?"

"Yes."

That’s right.

Ryoga’s younger sister, Sayori, hadn’t been killed.

Sayori simply couldn’t accept the death of her older brother Ryoga, so she convinced herself that 『she』 had died instead.

"We in the vigilante corps were lost after our leader was gone—then, a perfect replacement showed up. It was more than we could’ve hoped for."

"The vigilante corps is essential to Ressal. We couldn’t afford to lose our cohesion here."

And so, Sayori was accepted by the other members and became the second leader of the vigilante corps—as Ryoga.

Ironically, she was far more rational than her late brother.

The one who formed the vigilante corps was Ryoga. But the one who truly unified it and developed it into an elite unit—that was thanks to Sayori’s abilities.

That’s why the members of the corps continued to revere Sayori 『as Ryoga』.

“────But that illusion has just been shattered, hasn’t it.”

"…"

"The sight she’s being shown right now—it’s not hard to imagine."

And with that, the delicate balance that had been barely holding together Sayori’s 『mental stability』 collapsed.

She, of all people, was the one who should never have been struck by that magic which 『rips open trauma』.

"『The leader of the vigilante corps, Ryoga』 is never coming back."

"…"

Maika declared it with a voice full of sorrow. The reason was simple.

"I’m sure that girl just remembered… that she’s not Ryoga."

Because the gentle illusion held by a sister who had lost her brother had just been destroyed.

---

『She was a woman? Well, no matter. A useful pawn is still a useful pawn.』

In mere seconds, Ryoga lost consciousness.

It wasn’t from fainting or passing out.

Confronted with unbearable 『agony』, her mind simply broke.

『I’ll have you work as a living pawn for a while.』

This is how the Villain Clan operates.

First, they shatter the mind through psychological torture—then brainwash the victim into an obedient pawn.

Thus, the leader of the vigilante corps was destroyed.

As a result, Ressal’s last hope was extinguished, and the city would once again plunge into the depths of chaos.

For Ressal without Ryoga has no path left but ruin.

『A new addition to the collection… kihihihihi.』

The sorceress turned her lifeless eyes toward Ryoga-Sayori and let out a laugh.

She moved to embrace the unresponsive, shattered 『Hero of Ressal』 with a twisted affection—

"Looks like things turned out pretty pathetic for you, Ryoga."

Suddenly, a flying slash forced her to leap away.

A sharp gash appeared across the sorceress’s cheek, and blood trickled down.

『…Huh? Why are you here? I thought you were part of my collection…』

"Oh, those assassins you sent? I’ve already sent them all back to the dirt."

Whoosh. The swordsman swung his blade.

The rotted flesh clinging to the massive sword scattered and vanished upon hitting the ground.

『Where’s Rey? Where’s Rey!?』

"I don’t lose to someone I’ve beaten once already. I already decked him once and knocked him out."

The sorceress was speechless.

There was no way such nonsense could be true. The 『Heroes of the Ages』 she had sent after him—each one was a monstrous fighter worth a thousand men.

Even Silent Blade Rey, a swordsman at his prime, was feared as unbeatable by any who faced him.

Yet this young man, who had fought against a lineup of legendary warriors, didn’t have a scratch on him.

"…You really pulled through, Ryoga. So you kept your word and saved Irine, huh."

『Just… who the hell are you?』

"Huh?"

His entire body drenched in blood, eyes burning with relentless will, the man answered:

"I’m a friend of the Ryoga lying right there."

With that, he raised his greatsword and pointed it at the sorceress.