"Yugo! Wake up, Yugo!"
"Nn? Fuwaaaa...!"
The morning after the duel. Yugo, who had enjoyed his first deep sleep in a bed for some time, was shaken awake by Melt.
Still groggy from his comfortable slumber, he let out a massive yawn the moment he opened his eyes, drawing an immediate scolding from Melt.
"Yugo, Jinba is already here. Pull yourself together!"
"For real? Is it that time already...?"
Checking the time, he realized he had slept much more soundly than he had intended.
It was likely partly because it was his first time sleeping in a proper bed in a while, but Yugo also figured the burden of using the Flame Armor had played a part as he began preparing to meet Jinba.
"Yugo, your hair is all messy, you still look sleepy, and your clothes are disheveled. Come here, I'll fix your tie for you."
"I-it's fine. I'll do it myself."
Yugo grew flustered as Melt puffed out her cheeks in a pout.
Feeling it would be both shameful and embarrassing to rely on her to that degree, he combed his hair and pumped himself up. Just then, the door to the infirmary opened, and Jinba appeared alongside Fee.
"Yo, Yugo. Good morning. I see you're already under her thumb first thing in the morning."
"Don't tease me, Jinba. Anyway, I’m sorry for calling you out right after your shift ended."
"Nah, it's fine. I had something I wanted to discuss with you, too."
The members of the Security Force who entered with Jinba positioned themselves to surround the other bed, where Isaac still lay unconscious.
Assuming they had been assigned to guard and monitor Isaac, Yugo turned his attention to Jinba, who began to speak with a solemn expression.
"...I heard about what happened yesterday from Melt and Fee-kun. It seems another Demonic Sword User appeared."
"Yeah. What's more, he used the same techniques as Batz. I can't believe it's unrelated to the previous incident..."
"It's about that... Yugo, truth be told, I've secured yet another Demonic Sword."
"What!?"
Yugo's face filled with surprise at Jinba's revelation.
Melt, who was also listening, was stunned into silence before tossing a question back at Jinba.
"A new Demonic Sword... does that mean there were four of them in total...?"
"So it seems. Yesterday, when you guys contacted me, I was investigating that very matter. Fortunately, I was able to recover the sword before the owner could cause an incident... but the most important part of this story is what I'm about to tell you next."
"What's the most important part, Jinba?"
"The Demonic Sword I recovered... was brand new. And I'm not talking about a few months since its manufacture. It was made only a few weeks, or even a few days, ago."
Those listening let out a collective, sharp intake of breath.
As for what that implied, the group spoke as if to unravel the mystery.
"Four Demonic Swords have been discovered so far, and one of them was a recently manufactured item. Does that mean someone is mass-producing Demonic Swords somewhere...?"
"The first candidate that comes to mind is the hooded person who gave Batz his Demonic Sword... but it's hard to imagine one person doing everything from manufacturing to selecting candidates and distributing the blades. It feels more natural to think of them strictly as the distributor."
"Who on earth could it be? The mastermind who's making Demonic Swords for the hooded person...?"
Two incidents had been triggered by individuals wielding Demonic Swords. However, this case was far from over.
The masterminds scattering these lethal weapons across the city were still lurking in the shadows.
Unless they identified the source, there was no telling when or where another person driven mad by a Demonic Sword, like Batz or Isaac, would cause an incident.
While Jinba and the others wore grim expressions, not wanting the city to be consumed by such fear, Yugo placed his hand on his chin, lost in thought.
"Someone making Demonic Swords... a brand new blade... and the hooded person distributing them... wait a second."
"What's wrong, Brother?"
Yugo, whose mind had been working at full capacity, looked up as a certain possibility struck him.
As Fee watched him with a curious look, Yugo turned back to Jinba and asked a specific question.
"Jinba, aren't Demonic Swords supposed to be much more dangerous? I don't mean the part about driving people mad, but in the sense that their performance as pure weapons is supposed to be lethal."
"Hmm...? Well... I suppose that's true. I haven't seen them directly myself, but historical records of Demonic Swords describe them as possessing unbelievable power."
"If that's the case... then that's it. Which means the true culprit behind all this is—!"
"Yugo, what is it? What did you figure out?"
Yugo turned quietly toward Melt as she questioned him.
As he tightened his straightened necktie, he gave his answer.
"Everything's connected... my brain cells are in top gear."