"Uwaaaaaah!? Someone! Somebody, help me!"
"Help! Please, help!"
Screams echoed throughout the Wind Island City District.
As if pursuing the terrified people fleeing in confusion, swarms of monolithic, black-and-white Magic Armor Beasts prowled the island.
The monsters attacked every human they laid eyes on, beating them down and laying waste to the surroundings. Having appeared out of thin air to spread terror, they were now indulging in every possible act of tyranny.
"Ahhh!?"
"La—Lana!?"
In the midst of the chaos, a young girl tripped and fell. Her mother spun around, her face pale with fright.
The mother rushed back to her child's side, but the monsters were already closing in.
"Gagagigaga...!"
"Kyaaaaaah!"
The beasts raised their fists, preparing to strike the mother and child who had fallen behind.
The woman pulled her daughter into a protective embrace and bowed her head, let out a piercing scream. However, before the monster's fist could connect, a figure threw himself between them.
"Hmph! Seyah!"
"Gaga!?"
He kicked away the beast that was about to attack the pair, caught the strike of another individual lunging from the side, and drove his fist deep into its gut.
Yugo, having repelled the monsters, called out to the mother and child as they looked up at the sound of the impact.
"Are you okay? Any injuries?"
"W-We're fine! You saved us...!"
"It's dangerous here! Please, get to safety immediately!"
Yugo helped the grateful pair to their feet, shielding them as he guided them toward the evacuation route.
He had been assisting others who were slow to escape, and as he turned his gaze back to the Magic Armor Beasts closing in once more, he clicked his tongue.
"Tch... What's with these things? Where the hell did they all crawl out from?"
They resembled the rank-and-file combatants of some evil organization, or perhaps mass-produced Kaijin empowered by a Masquerade. There was no hint of human intelligence behind their blank faces.
Were they merely mindless monsters acting on orders, or had they been brainwashed by some kind of magic? He didn't know the specifics, but Yugo couldn't just stand by while they attacked innocent people. Channeled magic power into his bracelet, he deployed his Blaster.
"Transform!!"
Enveloped in a crimson light, he slammed into the center of the enemy pack.
As he drove his magic-infused fist into the pavement, the resulting shockwave tore through the surrounding mass-produced Magic Armor Beasts, launching them into the air.
"Ha! Seya! Oryah!!"
"Gagaga!"
"Gu! Gua!?"
Moving with the momentum of his descent, he kicked away an enemy in his path and delivered a heavy punch to another nearby.
He neutralized one beast with a crisp left hook followed by a right uppercut, then blocked the approach of another simultaneous attacker with a sweeping roundhouse kick.
"Ora! This one's going to sting!"
"Guguuuuu!"
He drove a backhand strike into a beast lunging from behind, then slammed his fist down to pin the off-balance opponent to the ground.
Yugo kicked the bouncing monster away, sending it crashing into the other creatures to deal collateral damage. Just as he prepared to engage his next target—
"Gugyaaaaaah!?"
"Gagagagaah!"
"Whoa!? T-Those guys are...!"
Suddenly, several mass-produced Magic Armor Beasts were scorched by arcs of flame, exploding into particles as they shrieked.
Evading the stray embers, Yugo looked up to see two Clear Plate Magic Armor Beasts he should have already defeated back on Shandia.
"The Rhino beast and that fire woman!? Why are they here!?"
Geras and Reina, who had transformed into those beasts using Clear Plates, were supposed to be in custody.
Shepherd had mentioned they were suffering from the plates' side effects, and the Security Force was meant to be keeping the Clear Plates themselves under heavy guard.
If that was the case, there was no way those two could be here. As Yugo processed this, the two Magic Armor Beasts let out guttural roars and lunged at him.
"Uoooooooooooooh!"
"Grrrrrrrrrrr!!"
"Whoops! This feeling... they're just like the combatants!?"
Judging from their behavior—completely devoid of reason or speech, just like the mass-produced drones—Yugo realized these weren't the real Geras and Reina. He executed a backstep to create distance.
While keeping his eyes on the target, he circulated magic power throughout his body. Upon landing, his Blaster shifted into a different state.
"Super Transformation! [Azure Flame Armor]!!"
The [Blue Armor] excelled in agility, while the [Flame Armor] enabled super-acceleration combat. By activating both traits simultaneously, much like his [Purple Flame Armor], Yugo manifested his new hybrid form. With blue flames flickering like wings on his back, he readied his staff.
"Don't think you can just come back for an encore and expect to win, you Reborn Kaijin! I'll wipe the whole lot of you out!"
As azure flames erupted from both ends of his staff, Yugo leveled the weapon horizontally.
He pushed his firepower to the absolute limit before releasing it in a single, explosive burst of acceleration. Moving faster than the eye could follow, he tore through the horde—including the two reborn bosses—annihilating the entire legion in an instant.
"Cobalt Branding!"
"Gugyaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
The screams of the dying beasts overlapped in a chorus of agony that echoed through the district.
As they exploded one by one in mid-air, consumed by blue fire, Yugo deactivated his transformation.
"There were no pilots inside those things. But if that's the case, why did they take the same forms as the ones we fought before?"
Given their mindless movements, he had suspected these Magic Armor Beasts were different from the usual types. The fact that no transformed humans appeared after their destruction confirmed his theory.
The real problem was that these independent entities were identical to the forms granted by the Clear Plates.
Normally, the form of a Magic Armor Beast changed depending on the user's characteristics. Yet, the ones he had just destroyed were exact replicas of the enemies from Shandia.
"What's happening? What on earth is going on with this island!?"
He didn't have the full picture yet, but he knew one thing for certain.
The mastermind pulling the strings behind the scenes had finally made their move. Just as Yugo reached that conviction, a voice rang out. He looked up toward the sky, his eyes widening in shock.