After Résistance became the newest member of their party, Wataru and Aria carried on through the forest, en route to the Demon Lord’s castle! The forest became eerily darker and darker as they progressed, but the trio fearlessly continued their march!
“I see... So you can’t use any magic, Wataru? Are you sure about challenging the Demon Lord?” Résistance asked as they walked along the unkempt path.
“My own two fists are all the magic I need to work with!!” Wataru declared triumphantly! Though Wataru also held the 10th dan in kendo, giving him some familiarity with weapons, he generally preferred to fight hand-to-hand!!
“Alright. I’m not all that proficient in magic myself, so I understand how you feel. How about you, Aria? Do you have special powers?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know? Bleh!” Aria stuck both her index fingers in her mouth and made a mocking face at Résistance! Apparently, she was still far from trusting the knight after her track record of serving the Demon Lord!
“Hey, Aria! Watch the attitude! Apologize to Résistance, now!!” Wataru scolded her like a mother would her teenage daughter! But Aria ignored him and continued walking!
“No need, Wataru,” said Résistance. “It’s not like I’m your ally or anything. I won’t pry for anything she doesn’t want to share.”
As they walked in slightly awkward silence, a small humanoid figure, about 20 inches from head to toe, appeared in the air before them! With a clean, cute face, a revealing outfit made from green fabric, and translucent wings on her back, she was unmistakably a fairy!
“Now hold on, you three! I’m the second of the Four Masters, Binker Tell!”
“Grrr!!! This dark aura... She’s good...!!!” Wataru was intimidated by the insidious aura surrounding Binker, the second Master, who likewise appeared conveniently early in the story!
“’Sup, Binker. How are you?” Résistance casually greeted Binker!
“Hm!? Résistance, is that you!?” Binker’s cute face was transformed in shock! “What are you doing here!?”
“It’s a long story. I’m traveling with them now,” the knight replied, pointing to Wataru!
“Does that mean... You betrayed the Demon Lord!?”
“Not precisely. I’m just neutral now.”
“What does that even mean!?” Binker could not conceal her understandable confusion!
“It’s what it sounds like. You all go on and fight, and I’ll stay out of your way.” Résistance took a single huge leap backwards, her long hair flouncing! Now she was 20 meters away from Wataru!
Binker remained hovering in the air as she stared down at Wataru, ready to fight! “I don’t really know what’s going on... But you’re going down!”
“Be careful, Wataru!” Aria called out with concern!
Wataru shouted back, as stern as a Nio, one of the fierce guardians of Buddha! “Right, I know!!! But... Fairy or not, I can’t attack a girl!!!” Our protagonist Wataru Ito was a hot-blooded, hardcore, Japanese male! Therefore it was inconceivable that he could bring himself to strike a woman!
“Wait, Wataru. You can’t defeat a fairy with physical attacks, anyway.”
“What!?” A shocking revelation! Fairies are immune to physical damage!
“Why not!?”
“Fairies are a species born with special magic cast upon them. We humans can’t even touch them.”
“Wh-What am I supposed to do!?!?” Wataru winced in agony!
“Ready or not, here I come!!” Flying through the air, Binker shot a magic fireball from her tiny hands!
“Rflct!!!!!” Wataru smacked the fireball back with his bare hand!!! How was that possible!?!?!?
“That’s incredible, Wataru!” Aria jumped right in with a compliment!
“Ooh, not bad... But it looks like physical attacks are all you’ve got, huh?” Binker acutely assessed! She was right!
“Grr...!”
“Now that I know that, you don’t stand a chance!” The fairy expertly used the wings on her back to fly freely through the air, showering Wataru with fireballs from all angles!
“Nraaaaggghhhh!!! Aria, duck!”
“Okay!”
Protecting Aria, Wataru continued to deflect the fireballs flying in from all around them with his bare hands! While Binker was tiny, her magic was plenty powerful! She was one of the Four Masters, after all!
“We’re not getting anywhere like this... Aria! Didn’t you heal me with magic, earlier!? Can you attack with magic!?”
“I-I’m sorry... I’m only able to cast simple healing spells.”
How tragic! Wataru had no way out, now! At this rate, Binker would defeat him!
That’s when Aria realized something! “...Hold on, Wataru! I once heard that you can defeat a fairy by singing a beautiful song!”
“What!? What in the world does that mean!?!?!?”
That’s when Binker chimed in! “We fairies die if a song can make us feel strong enough emotions!”
“I didn’t know that!!” Wataru shouted! Why did Binker Tell divulge her own weakness!? “Aria! Can you sing!?”
“I’m sorry, I’m tone deaf! I can’t sing a single tune!”
Résistance called over from where she was watching the fight unfold! “I’m tone deaf, too!”
“Shut up! No one asked you!!!” Aria shouted, exploding in anger!
Despite her distrust in Résistance, this might have seemed a little too harsh to our Dear Readers... In any case, Résistance had promised not to take a side!
“Can’t you sing anything, Wataru?”
“I can’t sing any normal songs! All I can do is rap!!!”
Aria didn’t recognize that unfamiliar word!!! “‘Rap’...? What’s rap?”
“What!? There is no rap in this world!? Then it might just work!!!!!”
“It might... I’ll get a mic.” Aria produced a microphone from her pocket! Wataru took it!! ...Why was Aria carrying around a microphone!?!?!?
“It’s my turn, Binker! Get ready for my hardcore track!!!”
“Hmph! Rap, shmap, buddy-boy! Bring it on!” Binker seemed unthreatened by the thought of anything Wataru might sing!
Wataru took a deep breath, and started dropping rhymes!
Don’t be shy, Dear Readers! Let’s all sing along!!!!!
Wataru Ito’s here, and I’m rockin’ the mic!!!
Stopped a truck with my hands like a little trike!!!
Now I’m at this Isekai but I don’t hear ‘sike!!!’
Gonna spit some hot fire that I know you’ll like!!!
Take this world by storm, make your neck hairs spike!!!
This hardcore n’ fighting teen’s gonna strike!!!
No tears in my eyes though, I’m a man de la men!!!
Pedal to the metal but my mind’s all zen!!!
Ain’t afraid to stick my head in the lion’s den!!!
’Cuz I’m a hot-blooded teen, I’m a tenouttaten!!!
Yeah, Boyeeeeee!
A demented expression formed on Wataru’s face as he threw these dripping lines into the air!!!
“Wh-What is this song!? I don’t understand! I feel something in my chest... It-It’s embarrassment! It burns!” Binker Tell twisted in the air, as if something under her skin was clawing to get out!!!
Wataru seized on this opportunity to twist the knob on his freestylin’ rap flow to a mind-shattering 12! Hardcore to the max!
Keep the beat flowin’, DJ!
Up this Isek-highway, I won’t let up the climb!!!!!
Every lady that I’ve met here thinks I’m sublime!!!!!
Now I hope this rap battle won’t take much more time!!!!!
Since I’m runnin’ out of lyrics that I know how to rhyme!!!!!
Can’t do the time? Well then don’t do the crime!!!!!
This’ll kick your ass like you’re a level-1 slime!!!!!
BOO-YAH!
Wataru ended his rap, contorting his face into that of a Nio statue!!!! He slammed the mic down on the ground like a finishing blow and thrust his fist toward the heavens!
“These! Are my burning-hot lyrics!”
“Gragghh!! They’re so bad! It hurts so much! Wh-What’s happening!?!?!?” Binker writhed in pain, clearly moved by the hardcore vibin’ rhymes!
Then...!
“I-I’m fading away...!”
To everyone’s dismay, Binker started fading into the air!
“N-No! Noooooooooo!!!” With a devastated scream, she vanished!