A Fool's Strategy
A tidal wave of pure white flames swept across the world. The trolls caught in its path couldn't even put up a fight, reduced to handfuls of ash in an instant.
"W-what in the world...?" Jack, who had been busy fighting two trolls on his own, looked utterly bewildered as his opponents crumbled into ash before his eyes.
"My goodness." Falco was equally stunned by the inferno Yohan had unleashed. It was her first time seeing him exert the full extent of his Apostle's Authority, so her shock was entirely justified.
"What does it look like? It's a fire that selectively burns only the bad guys. As they say, filth must be sanitized." Yohan replied with a smug grin, looking at Jack and Falco.
The disaster he had caused back in Balifield was because he had recklessly unleashed his power at maximum output without a plan. He had used maximum output this time too, but he had specifically directed it to harm only 'evil enemies,' ensuring his allies remained completely untouched.
The Goddess had once explained that an Apostle's Authority was an all-purpose power. True to her word, Yohan could manifest it in whatever form he desperately desired during a crisis. Moreover, because the Unnamed Goddess's power was fundamentally holy, it was exceptionally effective against demons and human trash alike.
—I feared you would recklessly wipe out your allies with a wide-range attack, but it seems you have a brain after all. The Goddess's backhanded compliment echoed in his mind. In response, Yohan flipped the sky a majestic middle finger and tried to summon his Light Sword again.
"Wait, what?" But for some reason, the Light Sword refused to manifest. A faint glimmer flickered in his palm before quickly sputtering out.
"Ah, dammit." Yohan quickly realized what was happening. Unleashing such a massive burst of power all at once had completely drained his available Divine Power.
"In-insufficient mana..."
"Yohan!" Yohan babbled his usual nonsense out of habit, but before he could even finish his sentence, Falco's sharp scream pierced the air as a massive object hurtled toward him.
CRACK! Stars exploded in his vision. With a heavy, bone-shattering impact, Yohan felt as if his entire body had escaped the clutches of gravity.
Am I spacewalking? No, of course not. He quickly realized he had been blasted by an enemy attack and was currently soaring through the air.
Ending his brief moment of unassisted flight, Yohan crashed into the ground. BOOM! But the force behind the blow was so immense that instead of just face-planting, he bounced and tumbled across the dirt repeatedly.
—Yohan! The Goddess screamed in his head. But Yohan didn't answer. He literally couldn't feel a single thing in his body. His consciousness was half-gone, leaving him feeling as though he were trapped in a dream.
—Wake up! The enemy is still alive! The other trolls had been wiped out, but the Troll Chief had survived Yohan's attack.
"..." Yohan's body was a bloody mess from the repeated bouncing and rolling. The sharp bone fragments littered across the dirt floor only made his wounds worse. He had taken the Troll Chief's tackle head-on. As a result, every bone in his body was shattered... or not.
Yohan suddenly sprang back to his feet as if nothing had happened. Sure, crimson blood was pouring from the countless cuts and gashes covering his body, but his arms and legs were working perfectly fine, so he didn't see any issue.
"Ahaha! Holy crap, that hurt like hell!"
—W-What?! Seeing Yohan stand up perfectly fine after thinking he had been turned into a pulp, even the Goddess, who had been worried sick a second ago, let out a dumbfounded gasp.
"Every bone in your body should have been crushed. How are you still standing?" Even the Troll Chief, who had been rushing over from a distance to finish him off, stopped in his tracks, utterly bewildered.
—Wait a minute. Your Divine Power... you still have plenty left? From the very beginning, Yohan hadn't used up all his remaining Divine Power. He wasn't stupid enough to make the same mistake twice after nearly drowning in a river just a short while ago from draining his soul dry.
His sudden nonsense about insufficient mana had merely been bait to trick the Troll Chief. By the time the beast's attack landed, Yohan had already activated his Apostle's Authority to shield his entire body. Of course, the barrier hadn't absorbed the impact completely, which was why he had rolled so spectacularly across the ground and ended up covered in cuts.
"Pfft—hahaha!" Yohan burst into laughter at the Troll Chief's dumbfounded expression. Bleeding profusely from head to toe while laughing like a maniac, he looked so bizarre that anyone else would have mistaken him for a demonic host rather than a divine Apostle.
—You insolent fool! Have you made a mockery of not only your enemy but the very deity you serve?! The furious Goddess bellowed in his mind, but that only made Yohan laugh harder.
"Hey, do you think I've been practicing every single day for nothing?" Yohan said, looking up at the sky. He was speaking to the Goddess, not the Troll Chief in front of him.
—Well, yes. I suppose your constant practice in wielding your new power has paid off... Wait, hold on. If you had the energy to defend yourself, couldn't you have just dodged the attack in the first place? The Goddess's point was entirely valid, and Yohan had to admit it. However, he had a very specific reason for taking the hit and rolling around so pathetically.
"Just because. I wanted to mess with that bastard." Yohan really didn't like the Troll Chief. Setting aside the fact that the monster ruled over a cannibalistic tribe and had slaughtered countless people, Yohan simply found his entire demeanor deeply irritating.
Especially that creepy, polite tone of voice, and the constant "I am merciful" attitude he exuded. Villains who were so full of themselves always needed a harsh reality check. At least, that was how Yohan saw it.
—Y-You absolute lunatic! You risked your life just to play a prank?!
"It wasn't just a prank! It was a legitimate strategy!" Yohan argued back, shaking his head vigorously at the Goddess's sheer disbelief. He then summoned his Light Sword once more and pointed its tip at the Troll Chief.
"Watch closely. From here on out, I'm the one driving this fight."
"Haha... My, my." The Troll Chief let out a dry chuckle at Yohan's declaration. When pushed to this point, Big Boss of the Undercity Family had lost his mind with rage, but this guy seemed to have a much sturdier mental state. Perhaps that was the difference between a thug who had only drained the life force of a few subordinates and a monster who had slaughtered hundreds of humans.
But Yohan still had another card up his sleeve. He lowered his Light Sword and extended his other hand. The Troll Chief focused his gaze, wondering what Yohan was up to. Waiting for this exact moment, Yohan smirked and curled his open fingers in a beckoning gesture, taunting the monster. "Come on, bring it." Even that demon couldn't resist this one.
Sure enough, the Troll Chief's eyes widened before his face contorted into a savage expression he hadn't shown until now. "It wasn't enough that you ruthlessly slaughtered my kin, but now you dare mock me?!" the Troll Chief roared, his voice dripping with absolute fury. His explosive reaction caught even Yohan off guard for a second.
—So he brutally murders countless humans, yet cherishes his own kind so deeply? Even the Goddess seemed disgusted by him. At this point, he wasn't just evil; he was a hypocritical psychopath.
"It's not slaughter, it's a lesson, you bastard!" Yohan yelled at the top of his lungs, gripping the Light Sword with both hands. The weapon, which had been in the shape of a one-handed sword, elongated and expanded until it was massive enough to match the giant sword held by the Troll Chief. Enraged by the sight, the Troll Chief lost all control and charged at Yohan.
It was coming. A giant sword capable of blowing a man away with its wind pressure alone was hurtling toward him. Yohan swung his Light Sword, now several times its usual size, to meet the attack. WHOOSH! The giant sword sliced through the blood-scented air. The Light Sword rose to clash against it. In a split second too fast for the blink of an eye, the two blades collided.
"That guy is seriously out of his mind." When Yohan had been sent flying like a bloody ragdoll by the chief's tackle, Falco and Jack had thought it was all over. But as if mocking their worries, Yohan had simply stood right back up and burst into hearty laughter.
"Just to be sure... is he really an Apostle of a benevolent deity?"
"He is. Hard as it is to believe," Falco replied with a deadpan face. She had been furious just moments ago, but after seeing the flames Yohan unleashed, she had returned to her usual calm self.
"When he told us to run because it was dangerous, he must have meant for our sake, not his." Jack muttered to himself, raising his sword above his head. "Well, whatever. The other trolls were completely wiped out by those flames anyway." He gave his sword a light flick to shake off the troll blood before looking toward Yohan and the Troll Chief. "We should join the fight."
"No, there's no need for that," Falco said, shaking her head.
"Why not?"
"Could you stand back up on your own two feet after taking a tackle from that monster like Yohan did?"
"W-well..."
Honestly, it was impossible. Fighting ordinary trolls was one thing, but the chief's attacks were hard to even dodge, let alone block. Even so, Jack couldn't just back down. Ever since he had been captured and dragged to this village, this was the moment of revenge he had dreamed of.
"I understand you want to plunge your blade into that bastard's chest yourself," Falco said. Jack wanted to argue back angrily, but her expression looked so sorrowful that he couldn't bring himself to snap. "Do you remember what Yohan told the villagers earlier?"
"I... do."
"It's exactly as he said. Yohan is risking his life to protect everyone, including you." Stepping into that clash of monsters would only be spitting on Yohan's goodwill and resolve. Falco turned her head to glance at Yohan. "Yohan is too shy to say things like this, but I'm a straightforward person." She looked back at Jack. "Don't throw your life away needlessly."
Falco's advice struck Jack like a physical blow, leaving him frozen with wide eyes. "Haha. Well, I'll be." He suddenly burst into a chuckle. "To think I'd be taking advice from someone else at my age. Just like you said earlier, you elves really are much older than you look."
"Don't pry any further."
"Don't worry, I won't."
Jack replied to Falco's slightly threatening warning and sheathed his sword. "Right. What about Billy? Is he alright?"
"He was pretty shaken up by what happened earlier, but if you're worried, you can go check on him yourself," Falco answered. The moment she finished speaking, both of them turned their gaze toward Billy.
"Looks like he's fine."
"Indeed." Billy, who had looked completely out of it just a moment ago, seemed to have pulled himself together and was now sitting quietly on the ground.
"You heard her, right? Intervening now will only get in the way. Let's just quietly cheer Yohan on." To witness the Unnamed Goddess and her Apostle put an end to generations of evil. Falco added silently in her heart.