Chapter-3

"Come on now, big guy," Roland called out, his voice surprisingly light despite the imminent danger. "Can't you see a lost soul just trying to find his rhythm?"

The ogre, clearly not a fan of rhetorical questions or flamboyant monsters, roared in frustration. It lunged again, this time aiming for Roland's legs. But Roland, with a flourish that would make any tango dancer proud, swept his leg out, tripping the lumbering beast with surprising ease. The ogre toppled with a earth-shaking thud, its club clattering uselessly away.

Dust settled, revealing the ogre sprawled on its back, blinking in confusion. A beat of silence followed, then a ripple of nervous laughter broke out from the human soldiers who had been cautiously observing the bizarre spectacle. Roland, taking a theatrical bow, addressed the bewildered crowd.

"Well, that settles that," he declared, a hint of breathlessness betraying his earlier confidence. "Looks like a little unorthodox dance routine is all it takes to win a fight these days. Who knew Grandpa would be the secret weapon all along?"

The laughter died down, replaced by a tense silence. A human warrior, clad in gleaming silver armor and wielding a broadsword, stepped out of the ranks. He glared at Roland, his face a mask of fury. "You mockery of a creature," he growled, "you've disrupted our battle strategy with your buffoonery! Prepare to face the consequences!"

Roland sighed, the carefree facade slipping. This isekai business was getting tiresome. He'd hoped for a grand adventure, not an all-you-can-eat buffet of suspicion. "Look, buddy," he said, holding Ryujin Jakka casually at his side, "I was just trying to lighten the mood. No need to get your greaves in a twist."

The warrior ignored him, charging with a battle cry. Roland met the charge head-on, the fiery blade of Ryujin Jakka clashing with the human's steel. Sparks flew, but the human's sword didn't stand a chance. The heat radiating from Ryujin Jakka warped the metal, sending it flying from the warrior's grasp. The surprised human stumbled back, fear replacing anger in his eyes.

Roland deactivated the flame, holding the scorched but intact hilt of Ryujin Jakka loosely. He looked around at the battlefield. Both sides – humans and monsters – stared at him with a mix of awe and apprehension. He was no longer a novelty, but a potential threat.

"Great," he muttered under his breath. "So much for making friends." The weight of his monstrous form settled on him like a lead cloak. He didn't belong with the humans, who saw him as a beast. But the monsters, with their guttural roars and bloodlust, hardly seemed like a welcoming committee either.

A dark thought wormed its way into his mind. Maybe the solution wasn't picking a side. Maybe the solution was… no sides. Maybe this whole mess, humans versus monsters, needed a good shake-up. A mischievous glint returned to his eye.

He raised Ryujin Jakka high, the setting sun glinting off its fiery edge. "Alright, listen up, everyone!" he boomed, his voice echoing across the battlefield. "Tired of this pointless war? Sick of killing each other just because you were born on opposite sides of the forest? Well, I have a proposition for you!"

The crowd, both human and monster, held its breath. Roland, the unlikely monster with a burning sword and a chaotic plan, had the undivided attention of the battlefield. And that, in this strange, unpredictable isekai, was a power all its own. 

A stunned silence descended upon the battlefield. Humans and monsters alike stared at Roland, his horned head silhouetted against the blood-red sky. The air crackled with a new tension, not of war, but of raw ambition. The idea of ending the conflict through a single, epic duel was as absurd as Roland's flamboyant dance moves, yet strangely enticing.

"This sword," Roland continued, his voice amplified by Ryujin Jakka's heat, "is said to be a legendary weapon, capable of burning anything it touches!" He paused for effect, letting the weight of his words sink in. "Whoever defeats me and claims this blade shall be declared the victor of this war!"

The battlefield erupted in chaos. The fragile truce shattered like a dropped glass. A hulking orc roared, charging towards Roland with a club the size of a small tree. A human knight, his eyes filled with fanatic zeal, launched himself forward, holy symbol glowing on his chest plate. Goblins, their courage momentarily outweighing their sense of self-preservation, swarmed Roland's legs like a tide of green teeth and claws. 

Roland, for all his bluster, hadn't quite anticipated the immediate and overwhelming response. He winced as the orc's club whistled past his head, narrowly missing his horns. A goblin managed to sink its teeth into his ankle, eliciting a yelp that would have done his inner grandpa proud. This wasn't quite the glorious duel he'd envisioned. It was more like a particularly enthusiastic game of dodgeball, albeit with significantly higher stakes.

He swung Ryujin Jakka in a wide arc, the searing flames momentarily pushing back the tide of attackers. "Hold on a minute!" he shouted, his voice barely audible over the din. "There are rules! A single challenger at a time, please! And no biting ankles, goblin!"

The pleas were mostly ignored. The humans, driven by a desire for peace under their leadership, fought with renewed vigor. The monsters, seeing a chance to end the war on their terms, threw themselves at Roland with reckless abandon. The battlefield transformed into a chaotic dance of ambition, each combatant desperate to claim the legendary sword and the prize it promised.

Roland's initial amusement soured into sheer panic. The battlefield, once a scene of organized chaos, had devolved into a mindless scramble for the sword. Humans and monsters alike trampled over each other, their previous animosity morphing into a singular, desperate hunger for power. It was overwhelming. 

He raised Ryujin Jakka high, the setting sun glinting off its fiery edge, but the initial awe it inspired was quickly lost in the throng. "Alright, alright, bad idea!" he yelled, his voice barely a whisper in the cacophony. "New plan! New plan!" 

But new plans were useless in the face of such unbridled greed. An ogre, twice Roland's size, lunged at him, its eyes burning with a feral desire. A human knight, his armor dented and bloodied, swung his sword with a final, desperate flourish. Goblins, a squirming mass of green fur and malice, swarmed his legs. 

Roland gritted his teeth. "Fine," he muttered, a dangerous glint flickering in his eyes. "You all want a piece of the legendary weapon? Then let's see how you handle its true power!" 

With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and focused. The air crackled with a sudden surge of energy. The familiar warmth of Ryujin Jakka intensified, radiating outwards in waves of heat that pushed back the encroaching tide of attackers. When he opened his eyes, they glowed an unearthly white, reflecting the inferno that now engulfed the blade. 

A deep, guttural voice resonated through the battlefield,. "Reduce All Creation to Ash," Roland boomed while releasing the Shikai. 

The ground trembled as a wall of yellow-white-hot flames erupted from Ryujin Jakka. It spread outwards with terrifying speed, consuming everything in its path – the charging ogre, the desperate knight, the shrieking goblins. The battlefield, once teeming with life, became an inferno, the heat so intense it could be felt miles away. 

Silence descended, broken only by the crackling of flames. Roland stood amidst the devastation, his monstrous form dwarfed by the inferno he had unleashed. His body ached, his head throbbed, and a sense of utter exhaustion washed over him. He looked down at Ryujin Jakka, the flames now a flickering ember. The voice was gone, replaced by an unsettling silence. 

He had won. In a way. But at what cost? Roland was thinking that dramatically inner voice.