“A shooting-specialized Blaster...! Since when did you have such a thing!?”
“B-but he doesn't even have a weapon to shoot with! What does he plan to do...?”
Setsuna and the others gasped as they stared at Yugo’s back, witnessing the new Blaster form forged from the dragon materials gifted by Yamato’s Three Great Houses.
Fee voiced his confusion regarding the lack of a firearm, but Anhel only offered a cryptic, knowing smile. Her eyes told him to simply watch and learn.
“Jinba-san, Thomas... I’m putting the power you entrusted to me to use!”
“What is that!?”
Before Fee’s very eyes, a black and green weapon materialized in Yugo’s outstretched hand. As the others stared at the vaguely familiar arm, Anhel began her explanation.
“You remember the crossbow Yugo got from Jinba-san? I dismantled it, reconstructed it, and modified it into a dedicated weapon by fusing it with the Blaster's micro-particle metal. Since the original was a folding-type crossbow, the adjustments were surprisingly easy.”
It was the very weapon that had come to Yugo after the Regen incident—a memento filled with the hopes of Jinba and his late partner, Thomas. Now reborn in a new shape, Yugo gripped the gun and locked his sights on the Sahagins terrorizing the beach.
His helmet assisted him, instantly calculating enemy positions, numbers, and potential obstacles in his line of fire. Once his preparations were complete, Yugo pulled the trigger, unleashing bullets of compressed wind magic.
“Gyah!? Gagh!!”
“Gyan!?”
“Gyagyagyaa!?”
Fired from a muzzle aimed diagonally upward, the bullets curved mid-air, seeking out their locked-on targets with predatory precision.
One Sahagin was blown backward by a direct hit; another was struck in the side of the head just as it lunged at a civilian; a third was riddled with holes, paralyzed by the impossible trajectory of the shots. The onlookers watched in awe as the Green Armor methodically picked off the monsters amidst the seaside chaos.
“Curved shots powered by wind magic,” Setsuna observed. “But to maintain that level of rapid fire against those numbers...!”
“I installed a tracking system that syncs with his helmet's HUD to avoid obstacles,” Anhel added. “The armor itself provides the processing power. This isn't just a gun; the entire Blaster system is optimized for shooting assist.”
“So that’s why the armor is asymmetrical. You concentrated all the functional components into the arm holding the weapon.”
“Exactly. Of course, it was only possible because we had those high-grade dragon materials to work with. There’s a trade-off, though—the defense is definitely lower than the standard Blaster.”
“Even so, this performance is incredible!”
The Green Armor was a collaborative masterpiece—dragon materials from the Three Great Houses, a crossbow from Jinba, and data from the Arrow Arm prototype. Fee was moved by the sight of the shooting-type Blaster protecting the crowd, yet he was only seeing a fraction of its true potential.
“Gyogyogya! Gyo!!”
“Oops. Looks like they finally realized I’m the one causing them trouble!”
“Yugo-dono, get behind this one! I shall shield you!”
“I’ll be fine, Sakura! I asked for backup, but I’m not going to let you do all the heavy lifting!”
Realizing Yugo was the source of the lethal sniping, the Sahagins swarmed toward him. Sakura moved to intercept them, fearing the shooting-type armor would be weak in close quarters, but Yugo held her back. He reached for the handle at the rear of his weapon and gave it a sharp twist.
With a heavy mechanical click, Yugo leveled the muzzle at the lead Sahagin and pulled the trigger.
“Blaster Bowgun... Machine Gun Mode!”
“Gyoe...!?”
In an instant, spiral wind bullets erupted from the weapon—not one at a time, but in bursts of three. The lead monster was shredded and sent flying, and Yugo immediately shifted his aim to the next target.
“Hmph! Ha! Haaah!!”
“Gyooh!?”
“Gyogyaa!!”
“Gigigigigii!?”
Accuracy and range dropped in this mode, but the overwhelming rate of fire turned Yugo into a whirlwind of destruction. Even with Ryuga and Sakura providing support, Yugo’s own self-defense was impeccable. He rained wind bullets upon every monster that dared draw near, snuffing out their lives in seconds.
“Out of my way!”
“Gyogyo!?”
The Sahagins found themselves in a nightmare. They couldn't approach, yet staying back meant certain death. Yugo fired a burst at their feet, using the wind to kick up a massive cloud of sand that blinded them.
As the monsters faltered in the swirling grit, the sound of rushing water and Sakura's voice cut through the air.
“Water Dragon Dance Act: Sapphire Radiance!”
“Gyo...!”
A streak of brilliant blue light tore through the line of four Sahagins. True to its name, a radiance like polished sapphire flared to its zenith, and the monsters were instantly bisected.
The strike, delivered by a naginata infused with purifying water magic, sent the creatures to their final rest. Sakura calmly returned to a ready stance, her eyes narrowing at the few remaining monsters.
“Ferocious though you may be, I would have stayed my hand had you remained in the depths. But since you have chosen to prey upon the innocent, I cannot overlook your existence. Prepare yourselves.”