"What...?"
Glonas let out a rasp of suspicion, clearly taken aback by the sudden appearance of Yugo and his equally abrupt question.
Without paying much mind to the monster’s confusion, Yugo continued to speak.
"If you were watching Mary, then you should understand, shouldn't you? She’s spent her life shackled to the past—to her mother's death. She lived with nothing but agony and hatred in her heart. But... she was finally able to cast that sorrow aside. She and her father finally shared what was in their hearts."
Yugo paused, exhaling a small breath.
He turned his gaze back to Glonas, who still wore an expression of utter incomprehension.
"Did you know? It seems there are some parts of the past that a person must never let go of. For Mary, that past wasn't her revenge. It was the happy memories of the time she spent with her family. That past will surely give her hope now. She chose to abandon her vengeance and live for the future. Don't go getting in the way of that."
"To think you would show up so suddenly just to... plead for your friend's life. It is futile! She is an agent of evil who betrayed us and Lord Kurotobari! For evil, there is only the Execution of Justice! I shall personally pluck away the future of a sinner who made the wrong choice!"
Glonas spat the words back, his voice thick with madness.
As Yugo listened to the scream, he stared straight back at the man who had become a Magic Armor Beast.
"I can't change the past," Yugo said. "I can't bring the dead back to life, and I can't reclaim the happiness Mary lost... But—I can protect the happiness she has right now."
He tilted his head slightly, glancing back at the path Mary and her father had taken. A small smile played on his lips.
He turned back to face the front, meeting Glonas’s radiating bloodlust with the unwavering pride of a hero.
"If you're going to try and pluck away the happiness Mary and her father fought to grab hold of, then I'll stop you with everything I've got. That is my role."
"I carry the weight of a great cause and true justice! Compared to that, the happiness of a mere two people is far too small and fragile! To speak of protecting such a thing is laughable!"
"What, so you do understand? Precisely because it is small and fragile—that's why it needs protecting."
Yugo’s lips curled into a fearless smirk as he clenched his left fist.
As the bracelet infused with Magic Power began to emit a Crimson Radiance, he watched Glonas lunge toward him with a shrill cry. Yugo shouted the word that signaled the start of the battle.
"Transform!"
From his left wrist to his entire body, Crimson Lines pulsed with Magic Power, racing across Yugo’s frame.
Armor of Black Iron deployed along the lines of light, shifting Yugo’s form into that of the Guardian of Happiness. Glonas flew straight at him, mid-leap, delivering a savage slash with his sharp claws.
"Sheyaaaah!"
"Hmph—hah!"
Yugo moved before the high-raised arm could swing down, jamming his clenched fist deep into Glonas’s stomach to stall the monster's momentum.
As Glonas groaned from the heavy impact and faltered, Yugo followed up with a snapping kick. The Magic Armor Beast—now a twisted mockery of a black crow—was blown back helplessly, slamming into a nearby wall.
"Gah! Guhah...! This... this power...!?"
"Phew! Yugo-dono!"
As Glonas slumped to his knees, groaning in pain, Sakura didn't miss her chance. With his power weakened, the Black Binding grew brittle. She resisted with everything she had and finally shattered her restraints.
She immediately transformed into her Warrior Shrine Maiden attire and rushed toward Yugo, Naginata in hand. Yugo kept his eyes fixed on Glonas as he issued his orders.
"Sakura, I’ll handle this guy. You go and protect Mary and Gaut-san."
"I hear and obey! ...However, if Glonas, the leader of the Society of Friends of the Night, is not Kurotobari... then just who is?"
Sakura had encountered Kurotobari before, and she was stunned to see that the Magic Armor Beast Glonas had become looked nothing like him.
If he wasn't the real Kurotobari, then who exactly was the one behind that crazed Execution of Justice? As she voiced her doubts, Yugo replied.
"We’ll probably find out tomorrow. Right about now... Ryuga should be finishing his fight with the real Kurotobari."