Daisuke Hiyama

Daisuke Hiyama is an influential antagonist who appeared in the Japanese light novel series Arifureta Shokukgyou de Sekai Saikyou (from Commonplace to Worlds Strongest), alongside its manga and anime adaptions. He served as the main antagonist of the first novel, chapters 1 - 4 of the manga, and episode 1 of the anime. He subsequently became a minor character for some time after this, before emerging as one of the final antagonists of the Demon Invasion Arc.

Daisuke was introduced as the archenemy of the series protagonist Hajime Nagumo, an otaku, who was befriended by a popular classmate. This made Daisuke (and many others extremely jealous), and they set out to make Hajime's life as miserable as possible. This bullying only escalated when the class was summoned to Tortus, culminating in Daisuke trying to take out "his rival" once and for all.

Daisuke was murdered by Hajime Nagumo by beaten him up and tossed him into the demons.

He was voiced by Japanese voice actor Minoru Shiraishi and Orion Pitts in the English version of the anime.

Appearance
Daisuke is introduced as a seventeen years old high school student. Hiyama is slightly tall, with an average build. He has head length hair and brown eyes. Like all of the students, Daisuke was summoned to Tortus in his school uniform, but upon becoming a hero replaced it with purple, black and orange leather armor.

He is frequently shown with an arrogant expression on his face to match his personality. This was often transformed into a sneer or mockery whenever Hajime was around, at least until the latter's transformation.

Personality
Daisuke is an arrogant, self-obsessed, selfish coward who takes delight in picking on those he deems to be weaker than himself, both verbally and physically. Hajime later recalled seeing Daisuke smirking when he knocked him off the bridge to his apparent death, demonstrating just how cruel Hiyama actually was. Daisuke was aided in his torment of Hajime, by three classmates. Although they stuck together, Hiyama did not regard them as his friends, just like-minded pawns.

Upon arriving in Tortus, Daisuke's arrogance rose exponentially, especially when he discovered he was even more powerful than Hajime. In reality, however, Daisuke was one of the weakest members of his class. He did little to nothing heroic himself and tended to avoid confrontations whenever possible. If he ever encountered enemies that were stronger than himself, Daisuke was content to stand back and let others fight the battle for him. Whenever the situation looked dire, or he was viewed in a negative light, Daisuke was not afraid to feign repentance and plead for mercy with crocodile tears.

Although his 'feelings' towards Kaori Shirasaki were sincere (at least on his part), his attempts to win Shirasaki's affections went unnoticed and did not excuse his antagonistic behaviour. Hiyama's greatest fear following the events in the Orcus Dungeon was that his fellow heroes would discover the truth about what had happened. As it turned out, one of his classmates, Eri Nakamura, had seen what Daisuke tried to do, and used that information to blackmail him into serving her. When Hajime was revealed to be alive and confirmed that he knew the truth about the said incident, Daisuke suffered a complete mental breakdown.

Throughout all of this and the treasonous actions that followed, Daisuke refused to accept any responsibility for his actions. During the said incident, Daisuke attacked and murdered his supposed crush, showing how little regard he actually had for any of his classmates.

Before the Summoning
Like many of the male students in his class (and the school at large), Daisuke had a crush on his female classmate and school idol, Kaori Shirasaki. However, due to witnessing an incident a few years earlier, Kaori was friendly towards, (and would later admit to having a crush on) Hajime Nagumo the class otaku. Along with many of the other students, both male and female, Daisuke felt that this attention was undeserved and that the lazy student was spurning Kaori's kindness. As such Hiyama resolved to make Hajime's school-life absolutely miserable.

He was the leader of what Hajime called "The Bastard Four", which consisted of himself and his 'friends', Reichi Kondou, Yoshiki Saitou and Shinji Nakano. Every single day these four students came up with ever more elaborate ways to make Hajime suffer, either by mocking or physically beating him. With the exception of Kaori and a few others (including Kaori, Kouki Amanogawa, and Aiko Hatayama), everybody else in the class was aware of Daisuke's but due to their own mutual hatred of Hajime and Kaori's relationship allowed it to happen.

Daisuke was present when the class was whisked across the dimensions to the world of Tortus. They were summoned under the pretext of being heroes, but in truth were little more than pawns in the eyes of the evil God, Ehit, who sought to use them for his own entertainment.

Training and continued bullying
After being summoned, Daisuke along with the rest of his classmates was met by Ishtar Langbard, Pope of the Ehit Church. The Pope subsequently gathered the students together, who were now dubbed the 'Chosen Heroes' and told them about the history and current situation of Tortus. This explanation, coupled with the revelation that the students could not return home until the demons were defeated, was enough to convince Kouki and several other students that they needed to fight, despite the objections of Hatayama sensei.

Daisuke said nothing throughout all of this but was overjoyed to discover that he (along with almost everyone else in his class) had been blessed by Ehit with above-average skills, alongside enhanced strength and stamina. He was chosen to serve the Kingdom of Tortus as a light warrior. This excitement turned into sheer delight when he discovered that Hajime was given the non-combat class synergist, and possessed below-average strength, and skills. The other students, with the exception of Kaori and Kouki, shared this sentiment and wrote Hajime off as weak and useless. The class was subsequently trained by the Kingdoms Knight Commander Meld Loggins, who worked hard to turn all of the students into a capable fighting force. Naturally, Daisuke and the other members of the Bastard Four used this as an opportunity to continue their harassment of Hajime. Under the guise of training, they would repeatedly punch, kick, and hit the synergist with training weapons or magic. Once again, most of the students were aware of the real purpose of this treatment but did nothing about it.

The Orcus Dungeon
Two weeks after the group's arrival in Tortus, Meld decided to test the student's prowess by taking them to the Orcus Dungeon. This was one of the legendary labyrinths that were occupied by several dangerous monsters, where adventurers came to level up and potentially further explore the dungeon. The night before the class and Meld were due to descend, Daisuke saw Kaori visiting Hajime, wearing a flimsy negligee. Although the visit was nothing more than concern for Hajime on Kaori's part, seeing his crush entering the room of his supposed love-rival made Daisuke furious.

The following day, the class entered the dungeon. After making it all the way down to level twenty and encountering several foes, Daisuke in a bid to look superior continued to note how useless Hajime still was. When Kaori, who continued to offer Hajime reassurance spotted a beautiful looking crystal hanging from the wall, Hiyama decided to retrieve it in the hopes of getting her attention. Ignoring the warnings of Meld and the rest of his class that it could be dangerous, Daisuke continued to climb the wall.

The moment he touched the crystal, Daisuke along with the rest of the students and knights were transported all the way down to the sixty-fifth level of the dungeon. This was the furthest anyone ever managed to explore in Orcus, but even the legendary hero that achieved this was not able to pass beyond this level. Landing on a giant bridge, the heroes were confronted by a gigantic dragon-like monster known as the Behemoth on one side and a horde of skeletal warriors called Traum Soldiers on the other. Surrounded, the group was forced to fight for their lives. Thanks to the selfless actions of Hajime, Kaori, Meld, Kouki, Shizuku and the Knights the Traum Soldiers were quickly destroyed.

The Behemoth, however, continued to advance but was stalled by Hajime, who used his Transmute ability to alter the ground, temporarily trapping the beast. This allowed the students with magical abilities to get into position and prepare to attack the beast. At Meld's command, the students launched a volley at the monster, giving Hajime a chance to escape. Undercover of the second volley, however, Daisuke Hiyama, overcome by his hatred and jealousy of Hajime, launched his second fireball, not at the Behemoth but at his fellow classmate.

Hajime was struck and immediately thrown back by the sheer power of the attack onto the collapsing bridge. The rest of the students could only watch on helpless as the bridge collapsed. With that, the boy they had dismissed as weak, relentlessly bullied and teased, who none the less risked his life to save them fell into the chasm below to his apparent death. Due to the desperation and confusion of their situation, many of the students mistook the actions of the fireball for a misfire. Just before disappearing, however, Hajime glimpsed Daisuke's face, which had a sinister smirk on it. Upon recalling this, down in the lower levels of the dungeon, Hajime realized that Daisuke was the one responsible for his predicament and that his former tormentor had deliberately tried to kill him in cold blood.

Daisuke and the rest of the students were immediately escorted to the surface by Meld and the surviving knights. Many of the students were left severely traumatized by the experience of seeing Hajime 'die'. Upon returning to the safety of an inn, Daisuke positioned himself in one of the corners and curled up into a fetal position. Many of the students assumed that this was Hiyama's way of mourning and that he was as traumatized as they were.

In reality, however, Daisuke was silently laughing to himself, delighted at having finally "destroyed" his rival for Shirasaki's affections. He labelled it divine justice and was confident that no one saw what actually happened. Moments later, however, he was confronted by Eri Nakamura. Contrary to what Daisuke had hoped, she saw what happened and knew that he had deliberately attacked Nagumo. She threatened to out him as a murderer unless he agreed to work with her, for an as-yet-undisclosed purpose. Left with no choice Hiyama accepted.

Aftermath
Following the events of the Orcus Dungeon, things quickly started to go downhill for Daisuke. Although Eri was the only other student besides Daisuke, who actually knew what happened on the sixty-fifth level, his actions had several unintended consequences. Convinced that Hajime was still alive, Kaori continued to train relentlessly and alongside several of the more powerful students made repeated visits to the dungeon in order to avenge him.

The majority of his fellow classmates, however, were too traumatized by their experience to carry on fighting for some time. Despite this, the students (fighting or not) were unanimous in their condemnation of Hiyama. Whilst they might not have especially liked Hajime, they would never in their wildest imagination have actually dreamed of killing him. They were also justifiably furious at Daisuke for ignoring Melds warnings about the crystal, which had put all their lives in unnecessary danger, resulting in the death of one of their companions.

Hiyama had anticipated this, however, and after waiting for the right opportunity Daisuke went to Kouki, the strongest member of the students. In a bid to get stronger and closer to Kaori, Daisuke made a big scene in front of everyone. Feigning remorse, and weeping crocodile tears a "thoroughly repentant" begged for forgiveness and asked to join Kouki's group in a bid to make amends. Convinced by this display, and not realising he was being used, Kouki forgave Hiyama and allowed him to join his team, after which the abuse stopped. Shizuru was one of the few students to realise that Daisuke was manipulating Kouki, but realised that there was nothing she could do about it.

After that a truly unrepentant Daisuke, along with several other students including 'his friends', accompanied Kouki on his adventures.

A Horrifying Revelation
A few months after the events in the Orcus Dungeon, Daisuke (and the rest of the class) received some shocking news, one that undoubtedly chilled Daisuke's blood and almost made his heart stop. Hajime Nagumo had survived his fall into the labyrinth! Having undergone a complete transformation (both physically and mentally) it was revealed that not only was Nagumo still alive but he was now wandering the world, with his own exceptionally powerful party and had acquired power beyond even Kouki's capabilities!

This revelation horrified Daisuke, who repeatedly insisted that it was impossible.

Hiyama was forced to confront reality, however, four months after their first entry into the Orcus Dungeon. When he along with the rest of Kouki's party were defeated, and almost slain in a demonic ambush, Hajime and his party arrived just in time to save them. Along with the rest of the students, Daisuke was stunned by Hajime's transformation. Hajime's hair had lost all colour, and his eyes had turned red. He'd also lost his left arm, and right eye replacing them with magical substitutes. He had also become completely merciless.

The students watched on in shock as the now monstrously overpowered Hajime made short work of the demons they'd been struggling against, using several of his gadgets. Throughout the fight, Hiyama continuously insisted that the man in front of them could not be Nagumo, who he insisted was deceased, but was silenced by Yue. They watched as the battle reached its inevitable conclusion and the demon was gunned down by Hajime.

Daisuke and 'his friends' backed up Kouki's criticism of this cold-blooded murder, but their words fell on deaf ears. Back at the surface, everyone witnessed Hajime mercilessly beat up a group of thugs that threatened one of his party members. Shortly afterwards, Kouki, misinterpreting the situation tried to engage Hajime in an unarmed duel but was defeated effortlessly by Hajime. Following this display Daisuke quickly realized that this was not a person he could intimidate or push around any longer.

It was then that Kaori professed her love for Hajime and announced her intention to join Hajime's team. In a desperate bid to remain close to the object of his affections, Daisuke and his teammates approached her. They initially pleaded with Shirasaki to reconsider and not leave their group. When that failed they turned their attention towards Hajime.

Adopting a similar strategy to what Daisuke had done with Kouki, the quartet 'apologised' for their mistreatment and begged him to let them join his team too. Glaring at his former tormentors, Hajime, who noticed madness in Daisuke's eyes, recognised that none of them were being sincere. He instantly shot down their request, calling them all worthless and weak. Nagumo also used the opportunity to question Hiyama about his skills, especially those relating to fire magic.

Thus, Daisuke's worst fear was realized. Hajime knew what had really happened on the sixty-fifth level of Orcus Dungeon. Not only did his arch-nemesis outmatch him, but he now had the potential to tell the other students about it at any moment. Noting his pale complexion and horrified expression, the rest of Daisuke's teammates backed off.

Kaori departed with Hajime, and his harem shortly afterwards, causing Daisuke to realize he now stood no chance of getting together with Shirasaki whatsoever. This in combination with the revelation about Hajime's survival, caused him to have a breakdown, making him murderously insane once again. It was then that Eri approached him, ready to enact her plan. She assured Daisuke that if everything worked out, then Kaori would soon be his.

Final Betrayal and Death
Simply put Eri's plan involved betraying the Kingdom and her classmates by unleashing a demon apocalypse upon them. She intended to turn all of the students into mindless servants in order to stay by Kouki (who she was in love with) side forever. As part of the plan, Daisuke killed several of the countries knights including his mentor Meld, with Eri promising that once all was said and done, she would resurrect Kaori as Daisuke's puppet.

He did this discreetly, however, and played along with getting caught in a trap staged by Eri. His treachery was not exposed until the final stages of the confrontation between Eri and the others. With everybody oblivious to his allegiance, Daisuke suddenly broke free of his bonds, and stabbed Kaori (who had just returned in a bid to save everyone) through the heart in front of all his classmates, fatally wounding her. As her "last act" Kaori used her magical ability to heal her injured class-mates, though Daisuke ensured that her injury remained fatal.

Unfortunately for Daisuke though, Hajime arrived shortly afterwards. After quickly surveying the situation, he spotted Hiyama standing over the now-deceased Kaori, his sword still embedded in her back. In a single bound, Hajime kicked Daisuke away, sending him crashing into a nearby wall, injuring him severely. Hajime proceeded to dispatch all of Eri's puppets including Meld and Hiyama's former friend Kondou, who Daisuke had allowed Eri to murder, leaving the villain at his mercy.

Before Hajime could kill the fallen-necromancer, however, Daisuke shot a fire projectile towards Nagumo, exactly like he had done at Orcus. This time though Hajime was able to stop it. Despite being heavily injured, Hiyama blinded by his desire to possess Shirasaki and his hatred of Hajime made the fatal mistake of trying to engage his nemesis in combat.

Although Hajime had not revealed what Daisuke had done to him back in the Orcus Labyrinth, Daisuke's actions made it perfectly clear about how unrepentant he actually was. Enraged at the death of the only person to show him kindness prior to their summoning, who was now his precious comrade, Hajime charged at his former would-be-murderer.

Knocking Daisuke to the ground effortlessly, Hajime (using nothing but his fists and feet) proceeded to beat the man who'd made his school life a misery back for every beating he had ever suffered tenfold. By the end of the short but brutal assault, the already wounded Daisuke was a gibbering helpless wreck, bleeding from several wounds, with nearly every bone in his body broken. As with every other incident, though Daisuke refused to accept any responsibility.

The fight ended with Hajime holding the barely conscious Daisuke up by the neck. Despite being barely able to speak, Hiyama still insisted that this was all Hajime's fault for standing in his way to Shirasaki's affections in the first place. Hajime countered this by stating flat out what Hiyama already knew but refused to accept: Daisuke had never stood any chance with Kaori because of his attitude. At the end of the day, Hiyama was nothing but a weak selfish bully who refused to accept any responsibility for his actions and who brought about his own downfall.

This only angered Daisuke further, but in his current position, he could do nothing about it. Hajime was done, however. He had been merciful to Hiyama twice in the past, only to have that mercy repaid with absolute betrayal. Spotting a large number of demons rushing towards them, Hajime decided not to give his opponent a swift merciful death. In retaliation for everything Daisuke had done to Kaori, and to a lesser extent his classmates and himself, then kicked his opponent away from him.

In a twisted mockery of what happened back at the Orcus Labyrinth, Hajime Nagumo kicked Daisuke Hiyama towards a massive horde of advancing demons. The light warrior was immediately set upon by the horde, unable to fight back. Hajime watched as the demons started devouring the screaming Daisuke whilst he was still alive, fittingly starting with his left arm.

Hajime did not watch the entire incident, however, as there were other battles to fight and left Daisuke to his fate. Ultimately, Eri's scheme failed, Kaori was eventually resurrected by Hajime and went on to become his wife. Thus Daisuke Hiyama ultimately betrayed his classmates for no reason. His classmates held bitter memories for him afterwards and remembered Daisuke as a selfish, despicable traitor. His two surviving 'friends' Saitou and Nakano, became virtual recluses and never bullied Hajime again following this incident. Hajime killed Hiyama by beaten him up and thrown into the demons to eat him alive.

Trivia

 * Daisuke is sometimes compared to Motoyasu Kitamura, from Rising of The Shield Hero. Whilst there are some similarities between the two characters, a few differences also exist.
 * Motoyasu started off an anti-hero, before redeeming himself whereas Daisuke is a straight-up villain.
 * When summoned, Motoyasu and Daisuke both had weapons and skillsets designed for close combat. Motoyasu's skills surpassed Daisuke's though. They both looked down upon their respective counterparts for lacking combat skills.
 * Both possessed a deep hatred for the main protagonists at the start of their respective series, Hajime and Naofumi respectively. Motoyasu's bad opinion of Naofumi was due to the deception of Malty Melromarc, however, whilst Daisuke's was due to intentional selfish reasons.
 * Both believed themselves to be superior to their respective rivals. Whilst this may have been true at the start of the series, both ultimately became the laters inferior.
 * Both Motoyasu and Daisuke tried to kill Naofumi and Hajime at some point but failed miserably.
 * Both were self-absorbed although Motoyasu later redeemed himself.
 * The biggest difference is their personality and eventual fates. Motoyasu genuinely tried to do the right thing but was often mislead by his pride, or the intervention of others. He also genuinely cared about the other members of his party. After suffering a mental breakdown, he went on to join Naofumi in his adventures, in a bid to seek redemption and became a better person for it. Daisuke, on the other hand, was only interested in himself and viewed all of his associates (with the exception of Kaori and Kouki) as expendable. He tried to murder his rival in cold blood, accepting no responsibility for his actions, learned nothing from his mistakes and ultimately turned against everybody in a bid to acquire what he wanted. In the end, he paid the ultimate price.
 * Daisuke was the fourth out of his classmates to die. Shimizu was first, Shirasaki second, Reichi third, and Nakamura fifth. He was the only one of these to be killed by monsters and not a fellow human.