Ario

**Ario** (アリオ, *Ario*?) is the 19th Hero. He is currently captured by the Neo Humans after going against them.

## Appearance

Ario has medium-length hair that extends over his ears and eyes and is styled in wavy on the ends, which covers nearly half of his face. He braids his shoulder-length side hair and hangs it in front. He is of average height, at least the same as Hallow.

## Personality

Ario is confident in his strength as a hero, acting flamboyant with confidence that Hallow appreciated. However, he has a cowardly side, notably when he ran away just from seeing Nudou playing with humans from afar. He became fearful and full of guilt of his actions when he ran off and became envious when Hallow revealed in spite of his fear, he was still willing to fight against the demons.

Despite this, he is still courageous enough to try to overcome this flaw. Facing the Giants and Neo Humans, Ario slowly overcomes his fears while also becoming enraged at the treatment humanity faces against Neo Humans and fights back against them. Holding hope that humanity will begin their counterattack even if he himself falls while having his companion Kira explain to Hallow to not save him after being captured.

Ario also likes to flirt with women, as seen from his attempt to hit on Kayla and Hallow's remark that it was his old habit.

## Plot

### Background

At some point, Ario joined the Heroes. He underwent hard training that even made him vomit blood.

### Introduction Arc

At the Fort of Humanity, the heroes listen to the king's speech. After hearing Liwan telling the others to not underestimate the Demon Army, he assures him they will win, asking Hallow for confirmation. However, the latter is incredibly nervous because of the heavy responsibility he's carrying. When Panepane doubts Hallow's abilities, Ario disagrees with the fairy, saying that despite Hallow's lack of flexibility, he won't lose to anyone in terms of strength of heart, which is the strength that heroes really need. He then motivates Hallow, agreeing to a promise with him to have congratulatory toasts once they take down the Great Demon King.

He went missing after his fight against the 19th Demon King, Nudou. His defeat and unknown whereabouts concerned Hallow.

During the meeting with Garasp and the other world's representatives, he has appeared while saying the phrase "You said you need a hero?", shortly after that, he mentions about not being to The Fort for a while.

Ario tries to pick up on Kayla by giving her a flower. She asks him why he is uninjured, and he says it is because he is a hero. As Ario is about to explain the meaning of the flower, she eats it, thinking that he wanted to feed her. He shows his disappointment as Hallow approaches, telling him that he is trying to chat on women again. Ario asks the hero if he slept well last night, and asks him how his battle against his demon king went. Hallow asks him about his battle, but Ario stutters and tells him he simply lost against his demon king. Hallow cheers Ario up, to which Ario says he has not changed.

When Hallow, Kayla and Ario return to the meeting room while others are sharing information, Ario reveals a group of giants is coming in the fort direction. Once everyone gathers outside, Pakka angrily questions Ario for not mentioning it earlier, to which Ario claims he wants everyone to get good sleep but will do so next time. Once the question of who to divert the giants is raised and Hallow volunteers, Ario rushes and punches Hallow, claiming Hallow is too worn out and he should go instead.

While waiting on the castle wall until the magic circle is complete, Ario is confronted by Kayla, who doubts he ever faced the demon king. Ario confesses the truth and how he was terrified upon seeing Nudou play with humans. He recalls wandering until the worlds got merged and returning to the castle after. He then tried to find sympathy from Hallow but figured out Hallow was different. Ario explains he wanted to make up for it and thus volunteered to face the giants. After receiving a flower from Kayla, he promises to do his best. Shortly before the mission, he bids others farewell, reiterates the mission to his squad and attempts to lift their spirit.

The group finds themselves facing the giants, with Ario trying to find his courage to speak up. He announces the group's surrender to the giant and shouts at them to stop after Shox is killed and again after Shigeru meets the same fate. When he thinks about fighting, Braginte steps up to entertain the giants. He watches the battle and remarks that Braginte can hold his own only to realize Braginte is only being toyed with. He and Ryam then guide the giants to New Humanity's area. The giants try to kill them but they escape and blend in the New Humanity crowd. He tells Ryam to be careful while hoping the battle between two natural enemies happen.

He finds New Humanity's indifference to the situation peculiar and questions if they made a mistake. Then they are shocked to see new humans' capabilities and the commencing battle. As he turns around to tell Ryam to escape, he finds her murdered by a new human and their disguise was exposed since the beginning. He tries to turn new humans' attention to the giants but all they want is to torture him both mentally and physically. Angered, he decides to fight while reminiscing his past. He fuses with his fairy, Kira, and unleashes Golden Storm. Despite his initial upper hand, his hesitation against Neo children made him suffer heavy damage and after a long and gruesome battle, he fell at the hands of a group of new humans.

## Abilities

As one of the 47 Heroes, Ario is a very powerful human.

### Physical Abilities

* **Superhuman Strength:** Ario, like the rest of the Heroes, is very strong. He is able to punch Hallow with enough force to smash him into the fortress wall with ease.
* **Superhuman Durability:** He has very good resistance; he can take multiple stabs from new humans and a kick from giants and still be able to continue fighting.
* **Superhuman Speed:** He can move at high speed, as seen when he catches Hallow off guard with a punch in the face despite Hallow being quite fast himself.

### Magical Abilities

* **Golden Storm**: By fusing with his fairy, Kira, Ario can command a storm of raging light. He can then control this storm to draw enemies in and deliver devastating blows. It's powerful enough to kill a large number of new humans and giants. The fusion also increases his mobility, even allowing him to float in the air.

### Miscellaneous Abilities

* **Expert Swordsman**: As he has trained tirelessly, Ario is a skilled swordsman. During his fight with New Humanity and Giants, he can deliver strikes that they can't even counteract.
* **Strong Courage:** It has been implied Ario has a strong courage that gives him power over his sword, especially during his fight with New Humanity and Giants. He also tries to make up for his cowardly run from his original fight by volunteering to divert the giants despite knowing his life is at stake.

## References

1. ↑ He's called **Alio** in scanlations
2. ↑ Versus Manga: Chapter 1, Page 22
3. ↑ Versus Manga: Chapter 5, Page 18
4. ↑ Versus Manga: Chapter 6, Page 9
5. ↑ Versus Manga: Chapter 9, Page 24