"What... what is that voice!?"
"Everyone, look up!"
As the mysterious voice echoed through the air, everyone looked around in shock. Melt was the first to notice something and pointed toward the sky.
All eyes turned upward to see the image of a man shimmering in the empty air.
He carried himself with a pretentious, theatrical air. A moment after the crowds caught sight of him, identical projections flickered to life across every corner of Wind Island.
"Is this... projection magic?" Professor Uno groaned.
He realized this display was a deliberate attempt to communicate with the masses. Meanwhile, the man on the screen—the mastermind behind the recent chaos—began to speak with an air of supreme confidence.
"Once again, greetings. My poor, pitiable residents of this miniature garden, you whose fates are now held firmly in my hands. My name is Abyss. I am the man responsible for the turmoil you currently face, and the creator of the Clear Plates—those marvelous devices that transform humans into Magic Armor Beasts. Consider me the Conductor who has orchestrated this magnificent stage of madness."
"He's the one who created the Clear Plates...?"
"So the mastermind behind everything finally decided to show his face!"
Abyss smirked as he openly claimed responsibility, confessing to pulling the strings behind the wave of crime that had plagued Wind Island.
The people felt a chill of terror. Despite his calm appearance, it was impossible to tell what he was truly thinking. Abyss, seemingly savoring the moment, continued his address with visible delight.
"Now then, as you are well aware, Wind Island is currently gripped by absolute panic. Naturally, that is entirely my doing. As for why I have gone to such lengths... it is for the sake of world domination."
"Rule the world? Is he serious?"
"I have a grand vision for the dominion of this world!" Abyss declared. "I intend to weave a narrative where I crush every soul who dares oppose me, ascending until I stand at the very pinnacle of existence. As the first step in that story, I require the cooperation of everyone on this island."
Abyss stepped lightly to the side. Behind him sat a massive, brilliant orb of green light.
The pulsing mass was roughly the size of a human child, but it grew larger second by second as it siphoned magic power from its surroundings. The onlookers gasped at the sight of the ominous glow.
"I am currently inside Hauvent Castle, the very symbol of your island," Abyss continued. "I am here alongside my Clear Plate users—whose terror you have surely tasted by now—and this, the Super Magic Weapon [Finale]. At this moment, [Finale] is charging a magic bullet powerful enough to annihilate this island in a single strike. In just a few hours, the process will be complete."
"Wind Island is going to be destroyed? In just a few hours!?"
"And once you have all perished in [Finale]'s blast," Abyss added casually, "I plan to resurrect you as zombies to serve as my Corpse Soldiers. It is a perfect plan, is it not? I demonstrate my overwhelming power and bolster my military forces all at once."
"Don't give me that! You're going to kill us and use our bodies as puppets!? We'll never let that happen!"
The residents of Wind Island erupted in outrage as they heard the horrific details of his plan.
However, their cries did not reach Abyss. He had likely anticipated their reaction; he simply laughed and leaned into the camera.
"Of course, I expected you to refuse. But I must ask you to give up. Despair is the only thing left for you. If you need proof, then look—"
Abyss snapped his fingers.
The image on the screen cut away, revealing a live feed of the Security Force fighting outside the walls of Hauvent Castle.
"Gwah! Aaargh!"
"Gah... ugh... no..."
"The... the Security Force!?"
The scene was the definition of despair.
The elite guards, the very men meant to protect the citizenry, were being systematically defeated. They lay broken and scattered before three towering Magic Armor Beasts. As the people of Wind Island watched in stunned silence, the students and staff of Luminous Academy were struck by an even deeper horror.
"Hahaha! Pathetic! You're all way too weak!"
"You're nothing to me now that I have the power of the Clear Plate!"
"This is incredible! No one can stand against me now!"
"What!? Is that... Cyan!?" Marcos shouted. "And the other two...!"
"Woz and Torin!?" Melt cried out. "No way... they betrayed us!?"
As the Magic Armor Beasts deactivated their armor and reverted to their human forms, screams of disbelief echoed through the academy's shelter.
Cyan, who had been expelled from the school, and their own classmates, Woz and Torin, were using the Clear Plates to serve the monster who intended to destroy their home. The other students stood paralyzed, watching their peers—young men who were supposed to be Hero Candidates—willingly descend into villainy.
"Heh... I went to the trouble of leaking our location to the Security Force beforehand," Abyss chuckled. "I needed them to cooperate in this little performance to show you all the meaning of true despair."
"The entry unit was taken down that easily? We're finished! We're all going to die!"
Cries of frantic terror spread through the crowds. They had seen their protectors crushed and realized Abyss commanded a force that could wipe them out at a whim.
Smirking as if he could hear their growing hysteria, Abyss leaned in closer. He offered a devil's whisper under the guise of an angel's mercy.
"Do you... wish to be saved? If so, there is exactly one way."