"So it really was you after all, Neid."
"How? How did you find this place!?"
Both had canceled their transformations, and they now stood glaring at each other.
When Neid demanded to know how Yugo had managed to track them down, Yugo pulled a communication device from his pocket to explain.
"I have this to thank. Ann has its twin. I lost the other half of this set a while back, so I added a GPS function just in case it happened again. Though, I guess you wouldn't know what that is. Simply put, I added a feature that lets me track exactly where the other device is located."
"A communication device...!? Impossible! I checked her when I took her! Anhel didn't have anything like that on her—!"
He had been in a rush, but Neid had still performed a body search before abducting Anhel from the workshop.
He screamed that there hadn't been a device in any of her pockets, but Anhel simply reached into the neck of her jumpsuit and pulled the matching device from her cleavage. She shot Yugo a triumphant grin.
"See? I told you it was a good habit to keep it there."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Good grief, you're a resourceful one."
Neid stood dazed. Such a hiding spot was beyond anything he had imagined.
Anhel hadn't necessarily intended to hide it, but she was delighted that her daily habit had turned the tide in their favor. She turned back to Neid, her expression hardening.
"It’s over, Neid. Just surrender quietly and atone for what you’ve done."
"Like hell I'm getting caught! If I make it north, my contact will be there! I'm not doing a damn thing you people say!"
Ignoring her surrender recommendation, Neid transformed back into a reddish-black ogre. He smashed through the wall opposite the one Yugo had destroyed and leapt outside.
He plummeted from the tall building, intending to flee immediately, but a purple shining sword pierced his body mid-descent.
"Gwah!? Th-This is...!"
"You didn't think we'd let you go that easily, did you? We already predicted your escape route!"
As the ambushed Neid groaned in pain and looked up, he saw Melt aiming her weapon at him, with Fee standing by her side.
It appeared they had anticipated his flight path and set an ambush. As Neid gnashed his teeth in frustration at being so thoroughly outplayed, Yugo jumped down from the building in his Blaster armor, carrying Anhel in a princess carry.
"Give it up. The Security Force will be mobilized to capture you any minute now. There’s nowhere left to run, Neid!"
Yugo and Melt stood ready, and Anhel took her magic items back from Fee.
Even with the power of a Magic Armor Beast, it would be difficult for Neid to win a three-on-one fight. Furthermore, if he didn't move fast, the Security Force would arrive just as Yugo had warned. Once that happened, his escape would be impossible.
Yugo and the others believed they had him cornered.
They waited for him to lose heart and surrender without further resistance, but Neid began to laugh defiantly.
"Heh... hehehe...! You lot really think you've won? How naive! Did you honestly think I wouldn't prepare a trump card for an emergency!?"
"What...!?"
Neid had indeed prepared for an unforeseen crisis. He shouted and pointed toward a specific spot. Yugo and the others followed his finger, their eyes widening at the figure approaching from the shadows.
"Isaac!? Why is he here!?"
"Anhel, did you already forget what I said? For someone to use a Demonic Sword, you just have to rig it so they move according to the creator's wishes. It's not perfect yet, but I tampered with the sword I gave him so he'd follow simple commands."
Returning to his human form, Neid laughed as he patted the shoulder of Isaac, who had likely slipped past his guards by exploiting the chaos of the emergency deployment.
Neid mocked the boy, whose eyes were hollow and vacant like a sleepwalker's. He then lightly tapped Isaac with his hammer, and a violent change immediately gripped the swordsman’s body.
"Ugh!? Guuuh! A-Aaaaaah! Gwaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Isaac!? Neid, what did you do to him!?"
"I just tempered him a little! I wanted to make sure this guy, who's been thoroughly soaked in the influence of a Demonic Sword, attained a form more befitting of his nature!"
Accompanied by Neid's mad shouting, Isaac let out a pained roar as his body twisted into a grotesque shape.
While Yugo and the others watched in stunned silence, Isaac was forcibly transformed into a brown humanoid bat with sharp fangs and massive wings.
"Well? It's the perfect look for a traitor, don't you think? It felt great to personally punish the guy who turned on me!"
"Neid... you bastard!"
"Whoa, settle down. It's too early to get pissed... I've scattered my Demonic Swords all over this city. Dozens of people are carrying my prototypes. I can't turn every single one of them into a Magic Armor Beast, obviously... but with a single command, I can turn them all into mindless puppets that will slaughter everything in sight."
"Don't you dare! If you do that, countless people will be hurt!"
Yugo's panic mounted as Neid revealed his hidden hand. If the Demonic Sword possessors lurking throughout the city all began to rampage at once, the casualties would be catastrophic.
Yugo desperately tried to think of a way to talk him down, but Neid merely sneered at his desperation and made a malicious declaration.
"Oh, my bad. I already gave them the order when I was remodeling Isaac!"
"What...!?"
The moment those words left his mouth, screams began to echo through the air.
It wasn't just one or two voices. Hearing the desperate cries of people driven by terror, Yugo looked around. Neid let out a booming laugh.
"Now, what's it going to be? The Security Force is going to be way too busy to look for me now! And you lot won't be able to chase me either!"
"Gi, gigiii!"
Taking Neid's shout as his cue, the Bat Man that had been Isaac took flight toward the southern district.
There was no need to guess what Isaac would do in that state. In a city already paralyzed by the rampaging Demonic Sword possessors, the addition of a flying monster attacking citizens would create a hellish scene of pandemonium.
"Make your choice, Yugo! Will you abandon the citizens just to hunt me down? Or will you let me walk so you can save them? Pick whichever one you like!"
"W-Wait! Neid!"
Ignoring Anhel's cry, Neid turned and fled toward the north—toward the person waiting to help him escape the city.
Yugo looked back and forth between the retreating back of the villain and the silhouette of Isaac flying off to slaughter the innocent. He shouted, shaking off the hesitation that threatened to consume him.
"We're going after Isaac! We have to save the people and suppress the puppets!"
"B-But, Brother! If we don't catch Neid now, he'll—!"
"I know! But—!"
He understood Fee's logic perfectly. If Neid escaped, his Demonic Swords would spread across the globe, and the tragedy striking this city would repeat on an even larger scale. For the sake of the future, Neid had to be captured here and now. He knew that in his head.
However, Yugo simply could not bring himself to ignore the screams of the dying just to chase a criminal.
"We have to stop Isaac first, then we'll go after Neid! If we don't, too many people will be sacrificed!"
Melt and Anhel alone wouldn't be enough to protect the fleeing citizens, deal with the rogue sword users, and defeat a Magic Armor Beast as powerful as Isaac.
Deciding that they had to suppress Isaac as quickly as possible so they could then pursue Neid, Yugo sprinted south. As he ran, the sight of countless people being attacked by the monster and the maddened sword users filled his vision.