"Don’t... don’t you mock me!! You’re nothing but a cheap imitation of us!!"
Galberos howled, her rage a searing inferno as she glared at the man who had boldly declared his name as Yugo.
Consumed by the humiliation of seeing her own discarded magic circle turned against her, she lunged at her opponent with a savage burst of speed—only for Trinity Blaster to catch the strike with effortless grace.
"What!? Gwah...!?"
"Heh... whether we’re mocking you or not is something you can find out the hard way. Let’s see how you handle the real thing!!"
Galberos was stunned. Her attack—powered by the overwhelming magic of three masterminds and a sea of sacrificed souls—had been neutralized with absolute composure.
Before she could process the shock, an even greater force slammed into her.
"Hyaaaaa!!"
"Gbuagh!!"
A heavy fist drove deep into her gut. The sheer impact was enough to send a shockwave through to her spine, doubling her over as the breath left her lungs.
Yugo didn't let up. He poured magic power directly into his fists, amplifying every strike as he unleashed a merciless barrage.
"Take that! And that! And that!!"
"Gah! Ack! G-gbuh!?"
Jabs, hooks, straights, and uppercuts rained down like a relentless storm, every single one a clean hit.
Galberos was toyed with, unable to evade or even raise a guard against the sheer speed of his fists. Finally, she grit her teeth, released a frantic burst of mana from every pore, and threw herself backward to create distance.
"God dammit!! You monkey-brained bastard! Don't you dare get cocky with me!!"
"Whoa, easy there. Someone’s lost their cool. Did your true colors finally leak out now that you're cornered?"
"No... quite literally, the person inside has changed."
The crude, vulgar language was a sharp departure from Dogma’s usual condescending tone.
As Yugo wondered if Galberos was finally showing her true self, Ryuga offered a detached analysis from a step behind.
As if to prove his words correct, Galberos hovered in the air and began conjuring spheres of flame, hurling them toward the trio in rapid succession.
"Die! Die! Dieeeee!! You pathetic little runts!!"
"Whoops! This fighting style...!"
A hailstorm of fireballs from a long-distance advantage—this was Burn’s signature move. Recognizing the tactic, Yugo realized what his partner meant.
"Their personalities aren’t harmonized like ours," Ryuga explained. "They’re a chaotic slurry. External stimuli cause different personas to bubble to the surface."
"So the 'Galberos' personality isn't actually a single, stable identity?"
"It's likely pure chaos inside that shell. She didn't just merge the three of them; she devoured the souls of hundreds of innocent people."
That magic circle had been a desperate, last-second gamble.
They hadn't had the luxury of fine-tuning the ritual. They had likely accepted the risks, believing that sheer, overwhelming power would be enough to crush any opposition.
It stood to reason: assimilating three masterminds along with over a hundred sacrificial souls would leave anyone’s mind shattered beyond recognition.
Yugo glared at the monster, feeling the stark contrast between their erratic fusion and Trinity Blaster—a form fine-tuned by Fee and fueled by the prayers and magic of the people, rather than their stolen souls.
Suddenly, Marcos spoke up.
"Yugo, the persona on the surface is Burn, isn't it? If so, let me handle him!!"
"Yeah, it’s a baton pass! Switching drivers, Marcos!!"
At the signal, the eyes of the Trinity Blaster shifted.
The burning, flame-like crimson faded, replaced by a noble, radiant gold. Simultaneously, a massive shield and a gleaming spear manifested in the armor's hands.
"Hah! Hyaaaaa!!"
"Nuuuugh!? This ice...!?"
Marcos deflected a fireball with his shield, instantly counterattacking with a thrust that unleashed a burst of magic.
As Galberos stared at the blocks of ice—each the size of a human head—that had just nearly impaled her, Marcos's voice echoed from within the golden-eyed armor.
"You never learn, do you, Burn? I just finished putting you down, and yet here you are, baring those broken fangs at me once more!!"
"Marcos...! You... of all people, you...!!"
"Oh? So you actually managed to remember the name of the man who beat you? Perhaps that dog-like intelligence of yours is finally evolving."
The memory of defeat, etched into his very spirit, roared back to life. Burn howled in a desperate bid to reclaim his lost pride.
Leveling the tip of his knight spear at his foe, Marcos stepped forward to begin the rematch with his resurrected nemesis.