Thanks Yuechan for the support...

"Haa!"

"Hmph!"

Leon slashes at me with his sword from above.

I backstep to avoid the attack, and counterattack with a side slash.

"Damn, it's heavy...!"

Leon catches my slash with his sword, but his face distorts.

It seems that if we compare only physical abilities, I have the upper hand. It was worth raising my physical enhancement skill.

"What's wrong? You look so weak!"

"Don't mock me!"

Leon, who had bounced off my sword and moved away from me, now holds his sword at his waist. On his steel sword, a blue effect appears.

This is a technique of the swordsmanship skill called 'Air-slash (Zenku)'. This technique is a well-known one in the game and it will send out a slash.

"Slash and split!"

A blue slash is sent toward me.

This attack comes straight at me, and if I suffer a serious blow, I will be injured.

"Well... I don't owe you anything to suffer..."

I also sheave my sword and send a slash.

We have the same swordsmanship skills. And so, Leon's blue slash and my red slash collide head-on.

The two slashes are balanced for a moment, but it's my slash that won the battle.

My slash, which had dispersed the blue slash, slowed down a little and went toward Leon.

But--

"Hmm...?"

Leon is not there.

I look for a sign... and look up above me.

I see Leon jumping high in the air while swinging his sword from above.

"Take this... power slash!"

"Heh... that's not bad."

If we compare our skill levels, I can say without a doubt that I'm better than him. It is only natural, since I have developed my skills in the shortest and fastest way possible through the game.

However, Leon is still the hero. It's no exaggeration to say that his potential is natural.

He uses 'Zanku', an indirect attack, as a decoy to jump in the air and attack with 'Power Slash', a highly powerful sword attack.

His battle sense, which even seems to be growing during battle, is something I could never have possessed.

"But... you're naive!"

"...!"

I make an action with the [Taijutsu] skill, 'Steps of Heaven (Tenpo)'. I move fast in the air and instantly jump toward Leon, who raises his sword.

If we fight in five or ten years from now, I may not even be able to strike a blow at Leon and lose.

And if we compare the hopeless factor of talent without knowledge and experience, I am not even close to Leon.

But still, it is certain. There is no way that Leon can defeat me now.

No matter if we fight a hundred times or a thousand times, I will surely win against Leon.

"Hmph!"

"Kahah!"

I strike Leon's torso with the back of my sword.

Leon, who was about to perform a great move, is unable to avoid it. He bends his body into a "" shape, loses his posture, and is smashed to the ground.

Meanwhile, I landed on my feet and taunted the falling Leon.

"What's the matter, Class Rep? You're not reacting very fast"

"Damn...!"

Leon grunts in frustration, but still gets up.

It seems that he had minimized the damage by taking a passive stance as soon as possible.

Really, it was an abominable talent that made me hate him.

"Why is it so one-sided...? Baskerville, how did you get such power?"

"How did I get it...? It's natural for those who work hard to become stronger."

I reply without hesitation, with a derisive smile on my face.

"You didn't move forward. You stopped. You just slowed down to keep up with the people around you and stopped running toward the goal. It's only natural that you can't catch up with me who've been running so hard."

"...Are you saying I'm not working hard enough?"

"That's what happened. Am I wrong?"

"......"

Leon is silent, his face contorted in frustration.

It seems he can't even respond to me. Still, I continue to hit him with my words.

"Leon Brave... Nagisa abandoned you not because of a difference in direction or personality. She abandoned you because you are weak."

"......"

"You've justified your laziness and stopped trying, cloaking yourself in such sounding words as 'kindness' and 'cooperativeness'. You have stopped aiming at your ancestor who once sealed the Demon King, and have accepted being an inert and weak nobody. That is why Nagisa has given up on you. Aeris could have had a future with you, but she chose me."

Perhaps, there is no doubt that Leon Brave is a kind and just man.

Kindness alone can save someone only in a peaceful world.

But, in this world threatened by monsters and the Demon King, a man who is only kind is of no use.

The hero who defies his surroundings and makes continuous efforts that make his blood run down his body is the one who is called 'hero'. That is the role the world needs Leon to play.

"Wake up! If you want to be a hero, be more desperate. You can't protect anyone if you're weak. You can't protect your friends from unreasonable violence."

"...!"

"If you keep showing your face like that..."

I looked down at Leon and raised my middle finger provocatively.

I twisted my lips, bared my pointed fangs, and said arrogantly.

"I'm going to steal your childhood friend, Ciel Uranus, too. Do you want it?"