The Price of Support
Vwoooooooom—
“Ugh...!”
Splatter—
“Cough—! Cough, cough—! Ptooey!”
After spitting out a final mouthful of crimson blood, I wiped my mouth and stared at the red wave receding toward the direction where the angel soldiers had retreated.
Hoping that at least one angel had been saved by my efforts, I took a deep breath and scanned the area to collect the empty bottles of recovery potions I’d desperately chugged to keep from blacking out.
Maybe it was because I’d downed so many... but thankfully, my health hadn’t dropped below 100, so I hadn’t entered a state of unconsciousness.
I really went through all those potions, didn’t I?
Well... I can just pull more from the Gacha.
I gathered the empty bottles scattered around into a pile, then slumped to the ground, completely drained of energy. Looking around from my seated position, I realized that the combination of blood refluxing from my skill usage and the recovery potions I’d guzzled to stay awake had sprayed everywhere. My clothes and the surrounding area were stained so red that anyone would think it was a literal bloodbath.
“Ugh, this wretched body of mine... *Sigh*... I need to do something about these clothes before...”
?
As I grumbled while looking at my soaked, crimson-stained clothes, I noticed that the heroes nearby were staring at me in total silence.
“...?”
“...”
Cheonma and Merlin had already seen it once, so they looked at me with pity, but the other heroes were staring with wide eyes and serious expressions.
King Arthur, in particular, looked absolutely horrified.
Wait, why are you all looking at me like that?
Ah—is it because I threw a tantrum earlier?
Or is this that "comrades are comrades" thing?
The power of empathy is truly something else.
'If you act like a jerk, people only realize it when it happens to them.'
That’s definitely the best idiom ever.
The performance is solid, isn't it?
It’s showing results immediately.
Oh, wait...
If I keep acting weak, I’m going to get chewed out again...
“I... I’m fine, so...”
“So... that red wave... you sent it out while bleeding like that...? That’s why you... collapsed with such a pale face back then...”
I tilted my head up to see King Arthur, clad in pure white full-plate armor, biting her lower lip. Her sapphire-blue eyes were brimming with tears as she stood there looking down at me.
No, King Arthur!
Why are you acting so out of character for a legendary king...?
Ugh... you’re making me go soft...
It’s getting hard to stay cold-blooded...
Just as I raised a hand to signal that I was fine,
“Something’s coming!”
With Cheonma’s shout, Lancelot suddenly dashed in front of me and raised a massive shield that covered her entire body.
What? What’s coming?
Vwoooooom!
A bright, pure white light erupted from Lancelot’s shield.
A moment later, that "something" put an end to my curiosity.
Kuu-Kwa-ka-ka-ka-ka-boom—!
A massive, pitch-black object slammed into Lancelot’s shield. The impact sent a shockwave that made me, standing behind her, stagger.
“...Urgh!”
As I reeled, Lancelot let out a groan from the sheer force of the impact and began to slide backward toward me. Seeing this, I quickly stepped behind her and reached out, pushing against her back to help her hold the line.
The pure white light faded from Lancelot’s shield. I thought we’d held it, but looking from behind her, I saw that she had been pushed back, leaving deep footprints five meters into the ground.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
Merlin asked, aiming her pure white staff, which was embedded with an emerald orb, straight ahead.
Cheonma said nothing, merely pointing her sword toward the direction from which the black object had flown.
“...”
Thump. Thump.
As everyone watched with bated breath, someone was clearly walking toward us from the direction the black object had come, their footsteps echoing.
“Who goes there!”
“...”
Thump. Thump.
Despite Cheonma’s demand, the opponent ignored her and continued to approach in silence.
“With that level of power... could a Legion Commander have come here personally...?”
“What? A Legion Commander? Here? Why?”
“Who knows... I guess we’ll find out if we ask.”
“They’re almost here. They’ll show themselves soon.”
Despite the heroes’ chatter, the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder.
Thump. Thump.
Thump. Thump.
Thump.
Thump...
...
....
The footsteps stopped, signaling they had arrived.
As Lancelot slowly lowered her shield, the figure of the suspected Legion Commander finally became visible.
“So, you’re all gathered here? The culprits who insolently defeated my sister. Grind...”
A woman’s voice, filled with hostility, reached our ears.
The Legion Commander revealed before us was wearing a black "bikini armor"—the kind I’d only ever seen in cartoons—that left little to the imagination, flaunting her mature physique.
She seemed to be using her confident expression to show that her skills were as top-tier as her body, and the aura radiating from her long silver hair, matching red eyes, and sharp gaze added significantly to her intimidating presence.
Is that... the legendary bikini armor I’ve heard so much about?
Whoa... the way it grabs your attention... it’s something else, isn’t it?
Even if she is an enemy... showing it all off like that is a huge... oh, yeah!!!
Wait, is that young lady not embarrassed at all...?
Ah, right. This is a gender-reversed world...
Well... she’s got the confidence to pull it off.
Of course... I don’t mind, since I like it...
Unlike me, lost in such useless thoughts, Cheonma continued her interrogation, her sword still pointed at the Legion Commander.
“To think a Legion Commander would drag that heavy body all the way here personally... You must be in quite a rush, aren’t you?”
“Indeed. Obviously. You dared... you wretches... to take away my only source of entertainment, which was tormenting my sister... I don’t let anyone who touches what’s mine get away with it.”
Lick—
Having finished her sentence, the Legion Commander licked her lips.
It’s confirmed.
If you get targeted by someone with a personality like that, you’ll suffer until you die. That’s a fact.
I absolutely have to avoid being targeted...
Someone like that is bound to be incredibly exhausting to deal with...
Surely she won’t find me, right?
Still, just in case, I should hide behind Lancelot so I don’t stand out...
I stood in a single line, pressing myself as close as possible behind Lancelot to avoid being noticed.
And then, the scenario I least wanted to imagine unfolded.
“That red wave from earlier... it seems to have played a decisive role in my sister’s defeat... which one of you did it?”
The Legion Commander glared at Cheonma, asking for the user of the buff tsunami I’d cast.
No, why are you looking for me there?!
Please... just say you don’t know, Cheonma!
No matter how pretty or beautiful they are, that style is terrifying...
If I speak informally, she’ll beat me for being informal...
If I can’t do something, she’ll beat me for being incompetent...
She’s exactly the type of senior officer I had in the military who would find any excuse to harass me!
Ah... the PTSD is hitting me all of a sudden...
Please, just let it pass, please...
But unfortunately, my anxiety never misses.
“No one? Don’t tell me... you think I’m a pushover? Or... is it that the man hiding behind you did it, but you’re covering for him?”
“...!”
Naturally, the Legion Commander pointed her fingertip directly at me, hiding behind Lancelot.
While everyone was too shocked by the Legion Commander’s sharp question to speak, Merlin stepped forward, aiming her staff at the commander.
“It was me. I’m a mage, so I can do it. What do you know to be saying things like that? Don’t tell me you think a man did it?”
Merlin argued with a triumphant expression to divert the Legion Commander’s attention from me to herself, but the commander crossed her arms and scoffed.
“Hmph—really? Then... shall we check?”
“...What? I told you I did it!”
Yeah, that’s right!
She’s confessing that she did it!
What, what are you going to check!?
“Do you think I’d fall for such a lie? I already knew that human male did it before I came here.”
“What...? How...?”
“That... I’ll tell you once my anger is appeased.”
Wow...
She already knew I did it.
Seriously, why does nothing ever go smoothly?
That aside...
Appeasing her anger...?
Please... just let me off the hook once... plea...
Despite my desperation, the Legion Commander seemed intent on truly venting her anger; she raised her left hand and began to focus power into her gauntlet.
Black currents erupted from the gauntlet, spiraling around her left arm.
Vwoooooom—
The black currents wrapping around her arm seemed to reach a critical point, humming with a sound as if they were just waiting for her to release the power.
“Hup—!”
““....!””
At the same time as the Legion Commander’s shout, an unknown force pulled our bodies forward, causing me and the heroes to lose our balance.
Not missing the opening, the Legion Commander quickly thrust her left arm forward, releasing the power of the black currents toward where Lancelot and I were standing.
Kuaaaa—
Since I was behind Lancelot, I saw her lose her balance and drop her shield for a split second.
Perhaps sensing the danger subconsciously, I didn’t resist the unknown force but used it to my advantage, grabbing Lancelot’s waist with my right hand to shove her behind me, while using my left hand to catch the shield in her place.
What? Why is my body so light...?
Did I really withstand that impact earlier with a body this light?
Or does this shield just have incredible performance?
Kuu-Kwa-ka-ka-ka-ka-boom—!
“...!”
Immediately, a massive shockwave slammed into my entire body through the shield, accompanied by a deafening roar.
I felt something strike my whole body with immense force, and at the same time, my head spun and I felt all the strength drain from my limbs.
It was like... being hit by a speeding truck? No, it felt more like being rammed at top speed by one of those truck drivers from the other world who are determined to send you to an isekai in a flashy way.
“Gack—!”
The impact was so strong that I vomited blood, my legs gave out, and I knelt, leaning against the shield.
Eeeeeeeee—
A high-pitched ringing filled my ears, and my mind was hazy, but Lancelot’s voice from behind me was crystal clear.
“...Idiot! What are you doing! You want to die!?”
Lancelot, who had quickly rushed to my side, supported me as I knelt.
“Idiot! Can you see me? Answer me!”
I turned my head slightly to see Lancelot, her face full of horror, having tossed her helmet aside to support me.
I tried to answer her, but I couldn’t open my mouth, so I just nodded slightly.
“Merlin! Merlin! Heal him!”
“Uh... Ah, I got it!”
It seemed Lancelot was desperately calling for Merlin to heal me.
However...
Bang—
“Do you think I’ll just let you heal him?”
“Do we look like background props to you?”
The Legion Commander tried to move toward me at incredible speed by exploding the mana in her body, but the heroes, seeing me knocked down, began to unleash attacks, radiating intense killing intent to block her path.
The pure white Aura Blade covering King Arthur’s sword, and the swords of Cheonma and Hwaryeon, glowing with a red, burning manifestation of their inner spirits, all shot toward the Legion Commander in their own trajectories.
Kwak-ka-ka-ka-kang—!
Tuk-kang—!
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gak—!
Kang—!
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gak—!
Ka-ang—!
Having perfectly blocked each of the heroes’ attacks with her gauntlet, the Legion Commander leaped backward.
“Tch... you’re a handful when you group up... Hey! You! It’s not worth your time to worry about a man who’s already lost consciousness and collapsed... don’t you th...ink?”
The Legion Commander, having distanced herself from the heroes, rolled her shoulders to loosen her muscles, then stopped mid-sentence while pointing at me.
Why?
Because I was standing up, trembling, leaning on the shield for support, and glaring right at her.
I spoke to the Legion Commander in a weak, stuttering voice.
“...Yeah. I... did it... Is the... venting... over... now...?”
“...”
But...
The Legion Commander’s face, as she stared at me in silence, looked a bit strange.
???
Excuse me?
You looked like you wanted to kill me a moment ago...
Why are you suddenly blushing...?