"Ryuga! Ryuga!"
"Raiha, stay calm!"
"But even for Ryuga, fighting that Magic Armor Beast in the open sea is reckless! We have to support him somehow!"
"Control yourself! Ryuga isn't the type to go down so easily! While he’s drawing one of the Magic Armor Beasts away, we have to do our part!"
Back on the surface, after Ryuga had plunged into the depths with Biran, his companions prepared to face the remaining Magic Armor Beast, Guruto, even as they fretted over his safety.
Setsuna readjusted her bow, her eyes fixed on the creature circling above. Every so often, it loosed a volley of feather bullets in a long-range attack.
"Melt, treat the Seahorses while you have the chance. Marcos, handle the incoming attacks. Raiha, you’re on sea watch. Don’t let any changes below go unnoticed."
The bowstring groaned as Setsuna drew it taut, nocking a Wind Arrow forged from her own magic power. As the most proficient sniper in the group, she released the arrow toward the Bird Magic Armor Beast dancing through the clouds.
"Whoa there! Nice shot, lady! But you won't hit me!"
Guruto mocked her as he banked into an evasive maneuver. Gliding through the air with incredible speed, he easily dodged the succession of Wind Arrows while calculating his next move.
(Now then, how should I play this—?)
The Security Force Boats couldn't reach them thanks to Biran’s sabotage. The Seahorses pulling the evacuation boats were currently undergoing treatment. For the moment, the vessels were dead in the water, and reinforcements weren't coming.
In other words, as long as he didn't do anything reckless, the situation would remain in their favor. He had no reason to force an solo engagement.
(Logic says there’s no way Biran loses in his own element. I’ll just wait for him to finish beating that brat, then the two of us can launch a pincer attack together.)
Just as Ryuga had surmised, the greatest threat in this encounter was the coordination between the air and the sea. If they were facing only one of the monsters, they would have had options. They could have retreated from the aerial assault while returning fire, or unleashed an Electric Attack from the sea at the cost of harming the Seahorses.
However, facing both simultaneously was a different story. This combination, where each partner covered the other's weaknesses, was the primary strength of Guruto and Biran. Being members of the same gang, their teamwork was flawless. Because they understood each other’s capabilities perfectly, they could adjust their tactics on the fly.
In this situation, Guruto chose to wait. He would stay back until Biran finished off Ryuga and returned to the front lines before resuming the slaughter.
(Treating those Seahorses will take time. As long as Biran kills his target before then, everything's fine. I’ll just keep them pinned down and stay in top condition until he gets back.)
Despite his appearance as a crazed criminal, Guruto was capable of surprisingly cold, clever judgment. He grinned as he focused purely on evasion.
Marcos and the others on the boat quickly caught on to his defensive shift.
"The bastard’s blatantly stalling. He’s waiting for his partner to return from the fight with Ryuga."
"Then we really do have to help Ryuga!"
"But how? We don't have any effective way to attack beneath the waves, do we?"
Though Ryuga had bought them a desperate opening, the enemy was proving difficult to crack. Faced with Guruto’s frustratingly cautious decision to wait for his partner, Marcos and the others began to despair—everyone, that is, except Setsuna.
"Oh? I thought 'never giving up' was a Hero's Condition. Giving up on victory just because he’s playing defensively? I suppose I don't have much of your trust, then."
"What...?"
Muttering those words, Setsuna drew her bow once more and loosed another arrow at Guruto. He glided out of the way, assuming it was just another monotonous shot, but he suddenly gasped as he realized the incoming projectiles were starting to track his movements with uncanny precision.
(What? Her aim just got a lot better...!)
"...It wasn't just the enemy who was stalling. Those shots from earlier were just feelers to gauge your movement patterns and top speed. I have more than enough data now."
Turning radius, behavioral habits, top speed—Setsuna had cataloged Guruto’s entire profile in that brief window. She began firing in rapid succession.
Guruto felt the pressure mount as the arrows began to graze him. He twisted his body at the last possible second, barely managing to stay ahead of the barrage.
(Damn! Should I pull back further? No, if I lose the pressure here, they’ll have a free hand. Not only would the Seahorses be healed, but they might even find a way to support the guy fighting Biran...!)
Now it was his turn to be paralyzed by indecision. He thought he was in a Safe Zone, but his entire plan was collapsing under the weight of Setsuna’s skill. If he moved any further away, the humans would be free to act; if he stayed and took risks, the chance of him being shot down skyrocketed.
Guruto tried to find the "correct" answer, but a sudden shockwave shattered his concentration.
"Gah—gh!? What was that!?"
He had rotated to dodge a visible arrow, yet a massive impact slammed into his body anyway. He screamed as he spun out of control, struggling to right himself before soaring higher into the sky.
"That attack just now... what was it!?"
It was fundamentally different from the previous shots. Instead of a piercing point, the arrow had hit him with a concussive force that felt like being struck by a wall. It was as if the arrow had suddenly expanded the moment it passed him.
From atop the boat, Setsuna watched Guruto struggle to recover as he was forced onto the defensive. A thin smile played on her lips as she whispered to herself.
"Impressive as always, Yugo. Your advice is proving very useful."