Greed

"Hey, Ara— Nestor. You said if we die here, we die for good."

The friendly rival Achilleus pops up right when the big bad appears.

Her eyes are even crazier than before, she's almost drooling.

How many people do you have to kill before you lose your mind?

How much is she above that limit?

She's an anime character from a world with monsters and magic, this is new to her.

They can cut through the enemy lines like a hot knife through butter, but they fight real human beings. Well, at least they look real and act like a human. Even if it's a Dive, this isn't my reality.

"Is it true for Greed too? If I kill her, and we go back to our world, will she stay dead?" She asks, her sword and entire arm dripping with blood.

Human blood. She's too far gone.

But she has a point.

The big bad demon sorceress, the crimson-skinned Greed is a terrifying opponent.

Her magic powers in the manga can wipe out entire continents in minutes.

And here she uses a regular bow, shooting arrows at us in a losing battle, so Aratsuki's eyes glint.

Even the henchman, a Minotaur with his great axe looks nothing tougher than a regular soldier.

"It's too risky. We're so close to ending this."

The light fades when she catches herself, stopping the enemy ambush in its tracks.

"We came this far without losing any of our own. Let's go home."

But her rival already has the info she wanted and jumps into action.

With her abandoning the frontline, our advance towards the palace slows down.

The others are less eager but follow her.

"We'll never get a better chance than this. We can kill the demoness right here, right now. This is why we became knights in the first place."

She tries to fire them up, cutting a wedge into the enemy formation.

I'm sure this world has no magic, at least not the type they're used to, but her frenzy goes beyond battle-rage.

Their main enemy, the final boss might hold the name Greed, but she is greedier now.

As the crimson hottie realizes the danger, Achilleus reaches her.

Without her magic, she can't fight her off alone, but she has her bull-headed henchmen to intervene.

"Come back, you idiot, you're going to get yourself killed."

The Knight's Captain joins the fray, but she and the rest of their formation are too far.

It's no use, Achilleus has no doubts about her invulnerability.

"Come here you red bitch, I've waited for this moment my entire life." She screams and drags the others with her too. I said this world has no magic, but I have doubts about it now.

This looks like something is messing with her brain. The closer the other girls get, the more it takes over them.

Even Aratsuki, who wouldn't let my wrist go before this to avoid all the fighting until now is in the front row.

"It's a trap!" I yell, but it's too late.

Of course. We got the tactical advantage thanks to the Trojan Horse and the infiltration.

But the Trojans still held the numerical superiority.

How did I not realize until now?

They hid their soldiers in the buildings and waited until we were in the perfect spot.

Even that first ambush was a distraction. Greed wanted us to be greedy.

The palace is only a hundred yards ahead, we're pushing through a large square before it.

The ambush comes from a narrow side street, and our soldiers only protect the roads and flanks.

They didn't guard all the doors of every building, and that's where the Trojans emerge now.

They had an hour to set this up, and the advantage of knowing this place better than us.

Our reserves follow the knights chasing the crimson girl.

The rest of our lines get surrounded.

Standing in the middle of the square, they rush towards me from every direction.

I said I wanted to be in the middle of the action, but this isn't what I meant.

All I have time for is to pick up a broken spear and brace for the impact, but it never comes.

Aratsuki crashes through the assaulting enemy lines and finally flashes her fighting prowess.

She didn't act like herself since we were in this world, but she no longer holds back.

"Protect the Anchor at all costs." She yells, spinning her spear and keeping a thin corridor clear around me.

She still fights like she has no idea how to use that thing, but it's not like I'm an expert either.

Even without the bullshit anime powers, she can overwhelm the advancing soldiers.

She's a superhuman, it's ridiculous. And she refused to use that power before I was in danger.

What is this if not flattering?

But even if the Trojans are no match for her power, the Minotaur henchman Greed sends after me is. Why is she so hellbent on killing me now?

Is it because the girls stopped chasing her to turn and protect me? She has no reason to stay in this world, and if she kills me, that's the only thing she'll achieve. But she doesn't know that.

The only one here who's aware of the situation is Aratsuki. Well, she could have made all that shit up too. But since it means they must defend me with their lives, I won't protest now.

"I could use some help." The Princess Knight huffs, her copper hair flying all over once her twin buns come undone. She's beautiful even as she fights, and it's quite distracting. But she's losing.

I never saw it happen in the manga.

She's always an unrelenting, unstoppable force, but the Minotaur overwhelms her.

Is it because her role in this story is of Nestor, a man too old to fight?

How much does this Dive thing mess with their true self? Is this real, after all? If it is, I'm about to go down.