"What was that scream...?"
It wasn't just some minor disturbance like a groper. It was a cry saturated with a raw, mortal terror that brought every conversation to a jarring halt.
Fee’s gaze snapped toward the source of the noise. His eyes went wide, and he pointed a trembling finger toward the shoreline.
"Big brother! Look! Monsters!"
Yugo and the others saw it too. A swarm of aquatic horrors was crawling out of the surf and onto the sand, their presence radiating an overwhelming pressure.
Their blue skin shimmered with slimy scales. Fins jutted from their backs and between their webbed fingers. Their obsidian eyes darted around, searching for prey, as they bared needle-like fangs in a guttural threat.
"Sahagins?!" Melt gasped, covering her mouth. "What are they doing in these waters? This is a resort; the coastal defenses should have kept them out!"
"This is bad," Anhel muttered. "Sahagins are vicious predators. If that many start a frenzy..."
Her intuition was dead on. No sooner had the monsters reached the dry sand than they lunged at the nearest vacationers.
The beach descended into chaos. Screams for help and panicked cries echoed over the crashing waves.
"Dammit! I need to get my Sword Ring out of my bag!" Melt cried.
"Ugh, my Seventh Tool is in there, too!" Anhel shouted. She glanced down at her precarious swimwear, her face flushed with frustration. "And you expect me to fight in this? I’m in no position to be offering 'accidental slips' as fanservice!"
The other Luminous Academy students were equally paralyzed. The transition from a festive holiday mood to a life-or-death struggle was too abrupt for them to handle.
"Setsuna! Raiha! We’ll hold the line!" Sakura barked.
"Understood! Melt, get your gear ready while we buy time!" Setsuna replied.
"Yui, Fee, evacuate! Ryuga, you—wait, where is he?"
Unlike the others, the Warrior Shrine Maidens could transform into their combat attire instantly. As they prepared to charge, Raiha looked for Ryuga, only to find the space beside her empty. Yugo and Marcos had vanished as well.
They were just here talking to Sakura... where did they go? Raiha’s confusion was cut short by a shrill cry. Further down the beach, a Sahagin had cornered a child who had stumbled in the sand.
"Run! Get out of there!" Setsuna screamed.
But they were too far. Even with their instant transformation, they wouldn't make it in time. The boy’s legs had given out; he could do nothing but cover his head and wait for the end.
The monster lunged, its fangs bared. But just as the worst seemed inevitable, a dark shadow swept over the sand.
"Hah!"
"Gugya?!"
A heavy boot slammed into the Sahagin’s side. Yugo had appeared out of nowhere with a thunderous flying kick, sending the creature tumbling across the dunes. He landed gracefully and rushed to the boy’s side, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay? Any injuries?"
"I... I think so..."
"Good. Marcos, he's all yours!"
"Consider it done! Come, lad, let’s get you to safety!"
Marcos deployed his Giga Scissors, using the massive blades as a shield to usher the boy back toward his parents. Nearby, Ryuga cut down another Sahagin that had tried to intercept them, clearing a path before turning to Yugo.
"I take it you didn't leave your Blaster in your suitcase, Yugo?"
"Are you kidding? A hero’s always ready for a fight, no matter the time or place!"
Yugo parried a clawed hand and countered with a sharp jab, the bracelet on his left wrist catching the light. Ryuga flashed a grim smile. The battle was joined.
Sakura arrived at the front an instant later, her Naginata sweeping through the air to send a cluster of Sahagins flying.
"Curse you, wretched beasts! You dare interrupt my tryst with Yugo-dono? I shall never forgive this insolence!"
She leveled her blade, her eyes burning with a mix of warrior spirit and romantic frustration. However, as she scanned the shoreline, her expression soured.
"This is a mess. The civilians are everywhere, and the monsters are too spread out. It is hard to engage them without risking collateral damage!"
The panic was peaking. Tourists were sprinting in every direction, some searching for lost children, others simply frozen in terror. For someone like Sakura, whose weapon required wide, sweeping arcs, the crowded beach was a tactical nightmare.
"Yugo! Can you hear me?!"
Yugo glanced back. Anhel was kneeling in the sand, one arm clutching her bikini top to keep it in place while she gestured wildly with the other.
"The adjustments for the new function are finished! This is the perfect time to use it!"
"Understood! I’m going in! Ryuga, Sakura, cover me!"
Yugo turned back to the swarming Sahagins. He adjusted the bracelet on his left arm, shifting the focus from the crimson gem to a brilliant green one. He drew a deep breath, his hands moving in a practiced, fluid motion as he centered his spirit.
"Super Transformation!!"
A howling gale coalesced into a roaring cyclone around him. Inside the spinning vortex, a pair of green-tinted eyes flashed with power. With a sharp, vertical knifehand strike, Yugo cleaved the tornado in two, stepping out from the dissipating winds in a completely new form.
"What is that...?" Setsuna breathed, her eyes wide.
"That," Anhel said with a triumphant grin, "is what you get when you use the dragon materials your father provided. I call it the Green Armor—a Blaster form specifically engineered for long-range combat!"