"Who are you? You’ve been staring at the children for a while now. If you don’t leave this instant, I’m calling the Security Force!"
"……"
The nursery staff member summoned every ounce of her courage to warn the mysterious man, who merely fixed his hollow, lifeless eyes on her.
Sensing that something was wrong, Yugo and Marcos rushed to her side. The woman looked startled for a moment, then spoke to them in a rush of relief.
"Oh, thank goodness! I’m sorry, but could one of you run inside and let everyone know there’s a suspicious man at the Main Gate? We need to call the Security Guards immediately..."
As she spoke, she stole another glance at the man, but he remained utterly unresponsive.
No—his eyes moved ever so slightly. He wasn't looking at Yugo or the others; his gaze was fixed on the building where the children were napping. A twisted, malicious grin spread across his face, and a manic laugh began to bubble up from his throat.
"Heh... hehehehe... Heh-heh! Heh-heh!"
"Looks like the rumors were true. He’s definitely not the kind of guy we can just ignore," Yugo muttered.
"We should detain him as an emergency measure. Given his behavior, he has left us no other choice," Marcos added, his voice tight.
The man was suspicious from every possible angle, exuding an aura so dangerous that Yugo and Marcos instinctively braced themselves.
It would be too late if something happened to the children. Just as they decided to move in and restrain him before he could act, the man finally spoke.
"Get out of my way. I have no business with you. My only business is with the children...!"
"Hearing that makes it even harder to step aside," Yugo countered. "Don't move. Depending on what you do next, I might have to get serious."
"I want them... the children! If it feeds on its favorite bait, it will grow even stronger. So... give them to me! Give me that delicious bait!!"
A chill raced down Yugo’s spine.
A primal fear rattled his instincts, and every sense he possessed screamed that this man was dangerous. He was an anomaly—something fundamentally "wrong" that transcended words like abnormal or strange.
As Yugo and Marcos both took stances, ready to manifest their Magic Items at a moment's notice, the man reached into his coat and pulled something out.
"Stop! Don't move!" Marcos barked.
"Hehehe... he, hehehe! Hehehehehe!!"
Marcos issued a sharp warning, but the man didn't even flinch.
His crazed laughter grew louder as he held the object aloft, his voice thick with a delusional intoxication.
"I want to be stronger! If I raise this thing, my wish will come true! For my sake... hand over the lives of those children!!"
"Look out!!" Yugo yelled.
"What?!" Marcos gasped.
Yugo reflexively grabbed the staff member and pulled her to the ground. Marcos’s shout followed as he deployed his Giga Scissors to act as a shield.
A tremendous impact rocked the area, followed by a blast of wind that felt like an explosion. Scrambling to his feet while shielding the woman, Yugo was left speechless by the sight before him.
"What is that...?"
It was a crab. Or rather, it was a crab in the shape of a man.
Thorns sprouted from a jagged red carapace. His hands had become razor-sharp pincers. Foaming bubbles dripped from a mouth that, like the rest of him, possessed every characteristic of a crustacean—yet the silhouette was undeniably human.
The sound of grinding chitin filled the air as the Crab Kaijin turned his pitch-black eyes toward them, foam bubbling rhythmically from his maw.
With a single, casual swipe of his right arm, the metal gate standing between them was sliced clean in two. Seeing the sheer sharpness of the attack, the staff member let out a small, terrified gasp.
"Ah...! I knew it! This power is the best! I want to be stronger! I want even more magnificent power! To get it, I need a meal! I need bait! Children... children, children, childreeeeen!!"
"That voice... it’s the man from before? Then that monster is...!" Yugo's eyes widened.
"Impossible...!" Marcos stammered, his face pale. "Are you telling me a human transformed into a Magic Armor Beast?! Such a ridiculous thing shouldn't be possible...!!"
Yugo and Marcos stood frozen, staring at the man now encased in the shell of a crab monster.
Yugo felt the overwhelming pressure of the Crab Kaijin as it took step after step toward them. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to stand tall. He glanced back at the building behind him and shouted to his rival.
"Marcos! He’s after the kids! We have to stop him here! You and I—we're going to take this thing down!"
"……Right. Understood!"
The man’s insanity was palpable. If they let him reach the nursery, it would be a massacre.
Determined to prevent that outcome at any cost, Yugo stood side-by-side with Marcos. He focused his will, activating Blaster as he shouted the command.
"Hen... shin!!"