The stranger blocked Diablo's blade, then drove a fist into his stomach hard enough to force him back a step.
He lifted his head and spoke, his voice steady.
"I'm the Shield Hero... Yutaro."
The battlefield had gained a new presence — one no one had seen coming.
Before he could say anything more, Rosa grabbed his trembling cloak and begged, her voice breaking:
"Please... help me. He's going to kill my daughter!"
Yutaro looked at Diablo and felt the full weight of his power.
He crouched down, took her hand, and said:
"Don't worry. He won't be able to kill her. I'm here now. I'll fight for her. Let's combine our strength and face him together."
Rosa wasn't convinced. Yutaro tightened his grip on her hand.
"Trust me. We'll win."
Despite the fear gnawing at her heart, Rosa chose to believe him.
Diablo laughed — a laugh so violent it bent the trees around them, as though they were bowing in terror.
He said, mocking:
"This is supposed to be the one who defeats me?"
Yutaro stood and looked at him, a light smile on his face.
"I don't need to say anything. The battlefield will do the talking — not you."
Diablo smiled. Someone unafraid to speak to him directly.
"You're strange," he said. "But interesting. Not afraid to face me, and you actually think you'll win."
"Of course," Yutaro answered. "I'm the Shield Hero."
Diablo stared at him, his eyes burning like twin pits of hell.
"So you really are the Shield Hero... but you won't stay one after this fight."
Yutaro smiled. "We'll see about that."
Diablo raised both arms, tore the air open around him, and released his aura in full.
The ground shook. Gravity itself grew so heavy that Yutaro and Rosa could no longer move.
A terror Yutaro had never known before gripped him — every ounce of fire he'd walked in with evaporated instantly. He was a kitten standing before an unkillable beast.
The sky turned black beneath the weight of Diablo's power, and storms began forming overhead. Yutaro's body shook as he looked into Diablo's eyes and saw his own death reflected back at him.
Rosa trembled, whispering Miko's name, praying she would come.
Diablo said:
"I'm coming for you."
He took a single step...
and in an instant, he was standing in front of Rosa.
He raised one finger toward her — a finger that carried her death, a burned corpse waiting to happen.
Yutaro spun around just in time, blocking the finger with his shield, shoving back with everything he had — but Diablo didn't give an inch.
Diablo seized Yutaro's throat with his left hand, smiling.
"Ever dream of flying?"
Yutaro's body convulsed, desperately trying to break free. Diablo tightened his grip, then hurled him straight up into the sky, where he vanished among the black clouds.
Diablo laughed.
"Didn't even need to bother fighting him properly. One throw was all it took."
While Yutaro flew helplessly through the air, an idea had already formed in Rosa's mind.
She forced herself to stand despite the pain and wrapped both arms around Diablo's waist, trying to pin him in place.
He laughed, contemptuous.
"What kind of pathetic plan is this? Run out of tricks already? Fine — let me give you one. Me... just back off a little."
She didn't answer. She only held on tighter.
He snarled in fury, grabbed her by the back of the neck like a stray kitten, and lifted her into the air.
"Stubborn, are you? Fine... you'll die now, and there won't be anything left of you."
He tightened his grip, looked at her, and said:
"How do you feel about the ground?"
Then he slammed her head into it, violently.
Through the pain, Rosa refused to let go.
"Release me," he said, "and I'll grant you a quick death."
She didn't. She only gripped his waist harder.
He raised her head again and slammed it down a second time. Her right arm fell limp, but her other hand kept holding on.
He drew back to strike a third time — but something came tearing through the air toward him.
Sebastian.
Sebastian collided with Diablo at full force, knocking him back a short distance.
In that same instant, Miko appeared. She healed Rosa quickly and teleported her away, deep into the forest, out of danger.
As for Yutaro — still falling through the clouds, a plan already forming in his mind: I need a strategy.
But when his feet finally touched the ground, Rosa wasn't the one waiting for him. Instead, he found a glowing child, her face carrying something that looked like hope itself in the middle of all this hell.
He landed like a falling star, kicking up a storm of dust. He grabbed Miko's hand without hesitating and said:
"We need to get to the forest. Everyone's there."
They ran together.
As they passed Diablo, Yutaro didn't even notice him — but Miko suddenly stopped.
Yutaro pulled back, afraid.
"Are you out of your mind?! He's stronger than both of us combined, and we don't even have a fighter with us right now! We need to regroup with her — I have a plan."
Miko answered, her voice calm and certain:
"Then tell me the plan."
Yutaro refused, unwilling to put a child in that kind of danger.
"I'm not telling you anything. Just go and—"
She grabbed him by the throat, looked straight into his eyes, and said, cold as ice:
"I'm on your side. Tell me."
He froze for a moment, then said:
"I'll tell you. On one condition."
"What is it?" she asked.
"You pass the plan on to her."
She agreed instantly.
He leaned in close and whispered:
"Here's the plan..."
(End of Chapter 58)