The End of Aggro is Obsession (4)
The commander of the [Diablo 1st Legion] had always believed that the measure of a military's strength was determined by how it responded to sudden crises.
Because unexpected crises could strike regardless of time or location, every individual soldier had to be trained as an elite. By implementing a tactic of "act first, report later"—where excellent commanders made on-the-spot judgments to navigate crises with calm leadership—the legion had consistently served as the vanguard in battle, earning recognition as the strongest among Diablo's forces.
However...
Things had started to go awry ever since they entered this world of Eden.
The Heavenly Race, with their robust bodies, indomitable spirits, and a stubborn pride that refused to yield to the Demon Race... that fantastic collaboration had eventually led to the stagnation of the front lines.
Those evenly matched Heavenly soldiers had become a formidable obstacle for the [Diablo 1st Legion], which always took the vanguard.
One day, amidst the repetitive pattern of daily combat, the appearance of the human heroes summoned by the Heavenly Race forced the legion to conclude that a new change was necessary.
The twelve human heroes summoned by the Heavenly Race possessed incredibly diverse abilities. While their individual strength was weaker than that of a legion commander, they were extremely troublesome because they would group together to mark and focus their attacks on a single commander.
The twelve human heroes had managed to bypass the legion's encirclement and pursuit, reaching the Mother in an instant. They had dared to draw their swords and launch a surprise attack, only to be soundly defeated by her.
Although that surprise operation had failed, it was a massive shock to the commander of the [Diablo 1st Legion], as they had never once considered the existence of humans to be a threat before then.
While they were currently stuck in endless meetings with subordinates, unable to find a way forward, a red wave—the origin of which was unknown, perhaps a skill cast by one of the human heroes—began to swallow the retreating troops ahead. Before it reached their position, the commander raised their right hand to signal the magic unit to prepare for an immediate shield deployment.
Kwoooooooom!!!!
The moment the red wave engulfed the Heavenly formation!
"NOW!!!!!!!"
As the commander lowered their right hand, shield spells poured out from the magic units stationed all around. Transparent, shield-shaped barriers stacked up behind the retreating allies in the front, forming a massive wall.
The commander stared ahead, anxious and wondering how to respond to the red wave as it collided with the wall of shields. Their jaw dropped in disbelief at what happened next.
Immediately after the red wave reached the point where the soldiers had begun their retreat, it suddenly started to emit smoke and vanish.
"W-what? Where did the red wave go?"
Waaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!
While the bewildered commander stood frozen, unable to issue any orders as the red wave disappeared before their eyes, four human heroes and Heavenly soldiers, their morale boosted, began to form ranks and charge across the plain.
"The wave that was supposed to come didn't... and only the human heroes and Heavenly soldiers are coming...? So, they were toying with me...? Grind..."
Frustrated and humiliated by their own confusion at this unfamiliar attack method, the commander gnashed their teeth in a rage, waiting for the enemies to reach them.
A moment later.
Heavenly Race
∨
∧
Demon Race
The two sides met in that formation.
First, the human hero wearing pure white full-plate armor, King Arthur, stepped forward from the Heavenly side.
In response, the legion commander stepped forward from the Demon side.
The commander, convinced they had been toyed with, glared at King Arthur with a face full of rage, but Arthur merely brushed it off calmly.
"...Are you the one they called King Arthur?"
"...Do you remember me?"
"Of course. I still remember your marvelous abilities. But what was that red wave just now? Who did that?"
"I did."
"Don't lie. Everyone here knows it wasn't you."
"Hmph, is there any reason I should tell you?"
"Hmph, it must have been that cheeky mage who was with you then."
"Hahaha! That's a secret."
Watching King Arthur laugh merrily as if daring them to guess, the commander thought for a moment, and the image of the human man they had seen yesterday flashed through their mind.
"Don't tell me, was it that human man?"
"...!"
King Arthur, who had been smiling the whole time, glared at the commander with a slightly stiffened expression.
"Looks like I hit the mark."
"...How do you know?"
"That's a secret."
Grind—
The sound of teeth grinding came from King Arthur, whose pride had been wounded by the commander's attitude.
Fearing that another provocation would lead to an immediate battle, and judging that their own troops were exhausted from the prolonged fighting and desperately needed a rotation for rest, the commander decided to drop a bomb of worry on Arthur to make them retreat.
"An ability that can re-arm all those troops in an instant... what a tremendous power that could decide the outcome of a battle in a heartbeat. Truly, he is the human man the Mother wants to get her hands on."
"W, what?"
"He is a human man who has caught the Mother's eye. Protect him well. That is, if you don't want him taken away."
"W, what is that! That Diablo?"
"Call her Lady Diablo! Hmph."
"H, how..."
While the commander watched King Arthur panic at the bomb they had just dropped, trumpet sounds began to be heard from behind both the Heavenly and Demon camps, signaling that the legions meant to rotate in were arriving.
Pa-pa-ba-ba-bam!
Poo-oooooooong!
"Are you going to keep fighting?"
"...No, we will withdraw. The legions meant to rotate in will enter as much as the plain that was advanced upon just now."
"Well... that's a job for the next legions. See you next time. All troops! Prepare for rotation!"
Under the commander's direction, the demons swiftly organized their formation and retreated. King Arthur watched them until the very end, then informed the arriving Heavenly legion commander of the situation before returning to the spot where the rest of the group was with the other heroes.
By the time they neared the Heavenly camp, the short-haired monk Judang, who was covered in bandages and had been silently following behind King Arthur, asked the group.
"Just what... is the identity of that young master... Do any of you benefactors have a guess?"
"..."
"...Who knows."
"...I'm not sure yet... but at least one thing is certain: he is not the incompetent person we expected. We should clearly apologize for ignoring him just because he's a man."
"...I've never seen such sorcery. I've seen healing abilities through the Saintess before... but to heal a group from that far away... it was a mysterious power."
Hearing the monk's last words, King Arthur recalled the information the Demon legion commander had given them earlier.
'Truly, he is the human man the Mother wants to get her hands on.'
'He is a human man who has caught the Mother's eye. Protect him well. That is, if you don't want him taken away.'
Diablo...
Diablo....
That monster knows of the man's existence.
And she wants him?
What kind of charm did that man have...?
He's not handsome... and he's not a strong being, either?
What on earth did she see in that man?
Ah... so annoying.
Why should I have to care this much about what that man is?
Troubled by their own unanswerable questions, King Arthur decided to meet the man quickly to hear the full story and hurried their pace along with the group.
By the time the black robe came into view, the man with a pale, bloodless face was lying dead to the world on Merlin's lap.
He had bled so much on the ground that the area looked like a sea of blood.
Beside Merlin, Cheonma could be seen staring intently at the man.
Tat!
Clang—
In an instant, King Arthur stepped forward with incredible speed, approached Cheonma, and swung their sword. Cheonma, having already drawn her blade, raised it to clash against Arthur's.
With their swords locked and a look of fury on their face, as if demanding an explanation for what had happened, King Arthur asked Cheonma.
"You... what did you do?"
"Me? Why?"
"Why...? You just said 'why'? Are you kidding me right now?"
"What?"
"Ha, didn't you clearly say you were only going to check what his ability was? I'm pretty sure that's what we agreed to do, right?"
"I did, didn't I?"
"You did... but... why is the man lying there looking like he's about to die?"
"Don't tell me you think I did that to him?"
"Isn't it?"
"It isn't."
"Then... are you saying the man did that to himself?"
Nod.
To confirm if Cheonma's nod was true, King Arthur turned their head sharply toward Merlin. Their eyes fell upon Merlin, who was using her lap as a pillow for the man, poking his cheek with her finger while her mouth hung open in a daze.
"...Sorry. Just looking at how she's acting, it seems your words are correct... She's about to drool all over him, hey!!!!!"
"...!!?"
Having apologized to Cheonma for the misunderstanding, King Arthur sheathed their sword and shouted at Merlin.
Merlin, who had been playing with the man while using her lap as a pillow with her mouth hanging open, was startled and asked.
"W, w, when did you get here?"
"What? When did I get here? Hey~ have you lost your mind? Are you seriously that obsessed with a man?"
"H, how can you say it like that! Is it right to speak so harshly to a comrade?"
"Then, we were suffering on the front lines... and your behavior, sitting there giggling while using your lap as a pillow, is that right?"
"..."
"Can you say that what you're doing right now is justified? Tell me."
"W, well, it's not, but..."
"G, great job. Really, huh?"
"..."
Watching Merlin, who didn't know what to do, King Arthur let out a deep sigh and said.
"No, what on earth is it about this man that has everyone in such a frenzy?"
"..?"
"...?"
Looking at the two heroes expressing their confusion, King Arthur said.
"It's only been one day since we met this man... but the demons already know everything?"
"...What? What does that mean?"
"No, I met the Demon legion commander a while ago... remember that monster who dealt us a defeat?"
"...Isn't that obvious? The spot where I was hit back then still hurts."
"That's right, I can never forget that monster."
King Arthur looked at the man and pointed as they spoke.
"That monster said she wants to get her hands on this man, and that I should be careful if I don't want him taken away?"
"...What? How..."
"...Eh?"
"I don't know that either. The only way to know for sure is if this man tells us himself. Was that red wave earlier something this man did?"
Nod nod.
At King Arthur's words, the two heroes nodded.
"Ha... it would have been better if he were truly powerless... How did he catch the eye of that monster... I want to wake him up and ask."
No sooner had King Arthur finished speaking than a groan escaped the man's lips, as if he were about to regain consciousness.
"K-hnn..."