I stared him down. "Whatever your deal is, I have to get past you. I'd rather not waste my energy here."
«You intend to fight that god, don't you? Do you truly believe you can win? That being is on a different dimensional plane than the gods of this world. Even I find myself wanting to avoid a direct confrontation with him.»
"If one of the top Evil Dragons is saying that, he must be something else... But I'm not stopping here. He's waiting for me."
«It seems you aren't even looking at me. In that case—»
Apophis's aura exploded. Darkness pooled at his feet, surging upward to coat his body. The shadows expanded with terrifying speed, threatening to swallow the entire area—and me along with it—into a void of nothingness.
«I shall simply create a situation where you have no choice but to fight me.»
"You'd go that far just for a scrap?!"
«I told you, didn't I? I love battle. And when the opponent is a legend in the making, I simply cannot resist.»
The darkness reached out to seal my fate. But then—
A pillar of pure, blinding holy aura erupted from within the gloom. The light crashed into Apophis like a physical wave, forcing him to bank hard to avoid being vaporized.
I stared in shock at the man who had produced that light.
A man with a glowing halo of light behind him, a holy spear propped casually over his shoulder. A man who once called himself a Hero and fought me to the brink of death.
"You... you're showing up now, Cao Cao?"
It was him. Clad in his Balance Breaker, Cao Cao stood atop one of his floating orbs, looking down at the battlefield.
He drifted closer to me. "Go. I'll take care of this... no, we will."
"We?"
Before I could ask what he meant, a thick mist began to swirl around him. It was a warm, humid fog that felt strangely familiar.
As the mist settled, several figures emerged behind Cao Cao. I recognized almost all of them.
"Hercules, Jeanne, Georg?! And the shadow-user from back then! And... uh... who are you again?"
"I'm Perseus!"
"Never heard of ya!"
"I figured! This is our first time meeting face-to-face!"
The brown-haired guy—Perseus—seemed surprisingly chipper for someone being ignored. Why was he looking so smug about being a stranger?
"I can't believe the Hero Faction is actually all together again..." I muttered.
Georg adjusted his glasses. "Sieg was defeated by Kiba Yuto, and Leonardo is still recovering from the aftereffects of that incident, so he isn't here. But for now, let's just say the core leadership and several members of the Hero Faction are present."
I remembered the boy with Annihilation Maker. After Shalba went on that rampage, the kid had been in rough shape. It made sense he couldn't fight yet.
But looking at the others, something felt... off.
"Wait, why is Hercules wearing a janitor's jumpsuit? And Jeanne... is that an apron?"
Hercules looked away, grunting under his breath. "Shut up."
Jeanne gave me a playful wink. "It's cute, right?"
"I mean, yeah, but..."
Cao Cao cleared his throat, looking slightly embarrassed. "Hercules is currently working as a handyman at a nursery school in the Underworld. Jeanne is an apprentice cook at a training facility in the Vatican. I'll spare you the details, but they basically walked off the job to come help."
A nursery school handyman?! Hercules?!
An apprentice cook?! Jeanne?!
And they just walked out on their shifts?! Is that even allowed?!
Hercules clicked his tongue. "Dammit, don't tell him that... Liu Bei."
"The Leader is so mean, telling him our secrets like that. Isn't he, Sun Quan?" Jeanne teased.
"Why are you changing my dynasty?! I'm Cao Cao! And stop with the teasing! Don't tell me you two—"
""Diarmuid taught us.""
"I knew it! That 'Fried Chicken' girl is a bad influence!"
Was the Hero Faction always this... wholesome? Their "villain" personas were crumbling faster than a dry cookie. Even Cao Cao's "straight man" skills had leveled up. Apparently, he had a talent for comedy too.
Georg let out a deep, weary sigh, pressing a hand to his forehead. "My, how things have changed..."
They really had. Who would have imagined the Hero Faction would turn into a comedy troupe?
Cao Cao coughed loudly to regain his composure. "Anyway. We'll handle this one. You keep moving. Someone is waiting for you, right?"
"Yeah. But are you sure? That dragon is insanely strong."
Cao Cao allowed a small, confident smirk to play across his lips as he pointed the tip of the True Longinus at Apophis.
"We once made a habit of picking fights with the gods of this world. We can handle a dragon. Besides, if getting you to that tower is what it takes to save the future... then the least we can do is clear the path. Even a 'failed hero' can do that much."
A failed hero...
I glanced at Cao Cao's aura. It was denser and more refined than anything I'd seen from him before. Vali was right—if I ever had to fight this guy again, he'd probably push me harder than last time.
I turned my back to Cao Cao, leaving him with only one parting word.
"Don't die."
"Heh. I can't die until I get my rematch with you."
We both shared a final grin before launching ourselves in opposite directions.
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