After witnessing Sharon’s transformation, she wanted to change too. She wanted to break free of her chains, smile, get mad, fight, and experience love just like Sharon did. She wanted to experience life itself. So, for the first time, she defied the very god of her world. Simply glaring at Ranbolg filled her heart with an insurmountable dread, but she kept on staring so that eventually, she would change.
The flame that awoke in her soul eventually spread to the other Lost Children, and the number of eyes fixed on him reached the hundreds.
“What? What are you jumping on her back for!?” Ranbolg screamed like a cornered dog and looked down at the collapsed Airi. “You whore! You’re still looking at me like that!?”
Ranbolg drew his sword and pointed it at the chest of who he believed to be the origin of this rebellion.
“Die!”
Thud! Thud! Thud thud!
Just as Ranbolg was about to strike, he watched his soldiers take flight in the background. By the time he regained his focus, he was face to face with the crimson-haired Diva.
“I’m sorry, but you won’t get any reinforcements. You’re about to learn that the friends I made in Althos are much more skilled and relentless than I am!”
Sharon winked while all hell broke loose behind her. In the midst of earthquakes and screams, Ranbolg could see a Freiyan soldier or two launch into the air. Feena, Kanon, and Cecilia were wreaking havoc amongst the enemy troops.
“Hah! So you think you’ve won!? I hope you didn’t forget that I still have this!” He sheathed his sword and pulled out the whip that had tormented Sharon for years, a deranged smile on his face. “Hahaha! Do you remember this!? The burning pain when it touched your skin!? The time you could barely even wriggle along the ground!? Remember!? You’ll never escape this whip! You’ll never overcome the terror deep within your soul! If you want to break down and apologize, this is your chance!”
The sight of the whip and Ranbolg’s words triggered Sharon’s vivid memories of her past. The days spent being whipped for the smallest, most asinine reasons, the sleepless nights spent weeping with pain. As more and more pictures of her past flashed before her eyes, she became completely paralyzed with fear. But right there, on the verge of breaking down, someone patted her on the shoulder.
“Sharon, get this: men are stupid, and if left alone, they’ll become cocky. At least, that’s what I read in one of Feena’s books.”
She turned to face Al, who was looking at her with a gentle smile.
“Hm. I guess you’re right. You’ve been pretty cocky lately, after all.”
As if she had merely been pulling a prank, she looked back at Al with a powerful smile and shrugged his hand off her shoulder.
“Hey, don’t lump me into the same group as that guy!”
Al shook the hand that was just brushed away.
“Don’t worry, I’m not. Now, just stand there and watch like you always do!” Leaving Al with insults as a form of gratitude, she turned back to Ranbolg.
“Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!” Sharon’s roar shook the earth. All fighting stopped, and Ranbolg himself felt like he had stepped into the cave of a feral beast.
“Wh-What are you...”
That beast slowly approached the confused Ranbolg one step at a time.
“Yeah. I remember what you did to me!”
Sharon wore a grin. A grin that, unbeknownst to the frightened Ranbolg, defied her past. For the first time in her life, she went abroad as an assassin. For the first time in her life, she walked the streets freely and experienced the full extent of the cuisine. For the first time in her life, she met with different Divas and made friends she could banter with. And for the first time in her life, she fell...
The time she spent in Althos was such a thrilling, fun experience that it completely blew her dark past out of the water.
“Why!? Why are you smiling!? This whip should strike fear in your heart!” Ranbolg said in a shaky voice.
“Why? Let’s see... Maybe because I’m not only a Diva, but the bride candidate of the Demon King.”
“Enough of that nonsense!”
Crack!
Ranbolg desperately struck down with his whip, aiming right at Sharon’s face in hopes that it would once again strike fear in her soul.
“Huh. This hurt a lot when I was a little kid. I was deathly afraid of your whip.”
But his last pillar of hope was destroyed by a ferocious yet beautiful smile.
“Wh-Why aren’t you doing anything!? Gatou, you too! Protect me!”
No one answered the cowering tyrant’s woeful cries. Everyone present was petrified by Sharon’s display of raw power.
“Y-You filthy slave!”
He slashed at her with his sword as well as his words.
“Ranbolg. I’m going to break my chains and become free!” she said and brought her sword roaring down toward him.
Clanggg!
Ranbolg’s sword flew high into the air as Dáinsleif’s handle planted itself into his guts.
“Gahhh!”
He collapsed on the ground with a painful groan, and Sharon looked down at him with a powerful smile.
“In Althos, we never kill anyone, no matter how terrible of a person they are. I’ll spare your life today.”
“Hah! Absolutely not! I’m not going to be beaten by some slave...”
Sharon ignored Ranbolg’s mad ramblings and turned toward Al.
“Al. I can no longer return to Freiya, so, umm... Please take good care of me.”
“We’re happy to have you for as long as you want to stay. No matter how much time fulfilling your dream takes, Althos will always be your home,” Al said with a smile. Now, it was truly over, once and for all.
At least, that’s what everyone hoped for.
“Bwahahaha! I’ll die! If I lose this battle, they’ll kill me!”
They all looked at Ranbolg and realized that he was holding a pale green crystal.
“Ah! That crystal!” Sharon had completely forgotten about it.
“Ahahaha! Die, you fools!” The crystal slowly entered his body. “Gyahahahaha! I’m... I’m...!”
Ranbolg bloated right in front of their eyes. The armor, no longer able to contain his body, was violently shot away.
“Guhahaha! Gwarghhhh!”
There weren’t any other prominent changes to his appearance, but just like during the incident with Kanon, his body was enveloped in an ominous cloud of mana.
“Haah, you should learn when to give up,” Sharon said as she prepared for the imminent danger.
“Thank goodness. I’d have come off as a bully if I punched that crybaby prince in the face,” Al said jokingly, but the tension was palpable in his voice. “Let’s do this!”
“A-Al?”
He ignored Sharon and charged at the monstrosity with his trusty Mistilteinn.
“Bwaaaaarghh!” Ranbolg was unable to produce human speech. He picked up a sword lying around him and swung at Al.
Kashan!
Mistilteinn easily cut through his magic-imbued sword.
“Grohh?” Ranbolg flinched in surprise, but Al pressed on.
“Take this! And this! Experience the torment you inflicted upon others, you bastard!”
“Graghh! Gwahhh!”
Al pounded him with the base of his scythe from every direction.
“What’s happening? How is he winning so one-sidedly?”
Ranbolg, under the influence of the crystal, was not a weakling in any sense of the term. He had a powerful presence on the battlefield that would have made anyone cower in fear, yet he was being beaten on like a sandbag. Completely lost as to what to do, he gave up on defending himself and half-heartedly swung his heavy arms at Al.
“Hey, don’t give up just yet! This is nothing compared to what Sharon had to endure! We’re just getting started!”
Blinded by rage, Al kept up his skillful, relentless assault. He jammed the handle of his scythe right into Ranbolg’s stomach, causing the monster to keel over in pain, then brought the handle up to its chin in one fell swoop, toppling the gigantic beast. Despite the anger boiling inside him, he executed these moves masterfully, careful not to make Ranbolg faint from the pain.
“Stop, Al! That’s enough! You’ll become just like him!” Sharon’s voice snapped him back to reality.
“I was... enjoying myself?”
He looked down to see Ranbolg lying on the ground, back in his human form. His face was completely swollen, and his body, especially his back, was riddled with welts.
“You went too far, Al!” Sharon approached him with a bitter smile.
Al realized the truth in her words, as he himself was shocked by what he had done. Struggling to find the right words, he looked at Sharon and...
“A-Anyway, we won!”
...lifted Mistilteinn high into the air.