"Yugo, Marcos, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, we hear you. How are things on your end? Though I guess I don't even need to ask."
After escaping the building while Ryuga handled the sniper, Yugo and the others had coordinated with the staff to search for the culprits and rescue the visitors. Hearing the transmission, Yugo responded to his partner, certain that Ryuga had already neutralized the specialized sniper.
"I squeezed the guy I took down and made him talk. I’ll keep this brief, so listen closely."
"Thanks. That helps."
Yugo let out a wry smile at Ryuga's mention of making the man talk. Judging by the aura Ryuga had radiated when he left the building, Yugo imagined the sniper at the receiving end of that interrogation must have suffered a truly miserable fate. He pushed the thought aside and focused on his partner's report.
"Regarding the number of culprits, there are three in total, including the sniper I defeated. As we suspected, there are two individuals currently controlling the animals."
"Where are they? And do we know what they look like?"
"It seems even this guy doesn't know their exact locations, but they are definitely still within the zoo grounds."
"How do you know for sure?"
"According to the sniper, their powers are still unrefined. Not only is their control over the animals via hypnosis and parasites clumsy, but their influence snaps if they move beyond a certain range."
"Well, that’s a relief. If their reach were limitless, the damage would have been catastrophic."
It was a simple rule of thumb: any ability involving the word "infinite" was bound to be a disaster. Yugo reflected on how such things were usually reserved for a 'Wizard of the Ring' or a 'Hero Who Died Once and Was Resurrected.' Then a stray thought struck him—wait, didn't he technically count as the latter? He shook off the ill-timed distraction just as a far more critical piece of information reached his ears.
"As for their appearance, you don't need to worry about that. Apparently, they can only use their abilities while they are transformed into Magic Armor Beasts."
"Which means the culprits are still in their monster forms. That certainly makes things simpler."
"It also means they can't try to escape by blending in with the fleeing crowd," Marcos added.
The intel Ryuga provided was vital. If the culprits had been able to control the animals while in human form, identifying them in the chaos would have been nearly impossible. Yugo and Marcos felt a surge of relief knowing that the enemies would stand out at a glance.
"I suspect these weaknesses exist only because their powers haven't fully matured," Ryuga said quietly. "In other words, if these guys were allowed to grow, the trouble they’d cause would be incomparable to this incident."
"Yeah... We have to take them down here, no matter what."
As they had learned from the siblings at the Insect Museum, humans who transformed into Magic Armor Beasts were capable of reaching an evolution known as Level 2. Even without that, if these mutants with their specialized abilities were allowed to grow, their threat level would become unimaginable.
It was a headache of an incident, but it was fortunate that they happened to be present. Yugo was resolving to nip this future threat in the bud when Marcos’s voice suddenly cut through the air.
"Yugo, Ryuga... I found one. Someone who, no matter how you look at them, can only be a Magic Armor Beast."
"...!"
Both of them caught their breath. As a sharp tension filled the air, Ryuga spoke up.
"I can see your location via the communication device. I’m heading over to back you up."
"No, leave this one to me. You and Yugo find the remaining culprit."
"...Understood. He's all yours, Marcos."
With a nod to Yugo, Marcos cut the transmission and walked toward the creature in his line of sight. Sensing his presence, the Magic Armor Beast spun around, looking Marcos up and down. When its gaze reached his face, the beast clapped its hands and spoke in a cheerful, mocking tone.
"Congratulations! You actually found me~! Aren't you something else~!"
Marcos narrowed his eyes at the large, ochre Magic Armor Beast. It was a vicious-looking thing, adorned with sharp, blade-like protrusions on its shoulders and head. While its intimidating appearance was noteworthy, there was something else that bothered Marcos even more.
"That voice... that insufferable, frivolous tone. You’re that guest who was kicked out of the Interaction Corner, aren't you?"
"Oh? Were you actually there? Well, it’s not like it matters if you found me out~!"
The man cackled, indirectly confirming Marcos's suspicion. His flippant attitude made Marcos's brow furrow as he prepared to press the villain for answers.