"Gamba, tell me the truth. You know something, don't you?"
"I—I don't know! I didn't do anything!"
"I don't think you're the one who attacked these men. Just calm down for a moment."
Yugo could sense genuine surprise and Fear radiating from Gamba. If the boy had been the one to deal out such brutal judgment upon these robbers, he wouldn't be reacting like this.
However, considering Jasmine's words from the previous day and the evidence gathered so far, it was impossible to believe he was completely uninvolved. Gamba was undoubtedly hiding something that sat at the very Core of this incident. Yugo tried to get him to settle down so he could explain, but then another voice cut through the tension.
"Big Brother...? What are you doing!?"
"J-Jasmine...!"
Yugo and Gamba spun toward the voice to find Jasmine standing there, her face ashen. She looked at the men lying on the ground, broken by a savage assault, and then at her brother, who was acting clearly suspicious under Yugo’s questioning. She shook her head in disbelief.
"Did you do this, Big Brother? Did you hurt these people!?"
"No! It wasn't me! I didn't do it!"
"Big Brother... are you telling the truth? Are you really not hiding anything? I saw you! I saw you meeting that strange man secretly outside the Village!"
"What...!?"
The moment Jasmine said it, Gamba’s composure shattered. Seeing her brother’s reaction, Jasmine realized the truth. Tears welled in her eyes as she screamed.
"Liar! You're the absolute worst, Big Brother! But I’m just as bad for protecting you! I can't... I can't take it anymore! I don't want to see the people of the Village getting hurt anymore!"
"J-Jasmine! Wait!"
"Stay where you are, Gamba!"
"Let go! Let me go! Let me gooo!"
Gamba tried to lunge after the sobbing Jasmine, but Yugo’s iron grip on his arm held him fast. Despite the pity he felt for the semi-hysterical boy, Yugo slapped his cheek to snap him out of it. He stared down at Gamba as the boy collapsed, gasping for air.
"You know something, don't you? If you keep this hidden, there will be more victims! Tell me, please!"
"I—I don't know! I didn't do anything to hurt the people of the Village! Why were those guys attacked? What did they even do!?"
Gamba continued to deny the accusations even now, but Yugo caught a specific detail in his claim: "I didn't do anything to hurt the people of the Village."
That implied that everything up until the Arachlaw extermination had gone exactly as Gamba intended. He was only this distraught now because the current situation was something he had never imagined. Yugo began to explain exactly who the fallen men were.
"Those men were robbers. They stole Money from the house of the Village Chief."
"R-Robbers...?"
Yugo held up the Silver Coin he had found earlier. As he detailed the circumstances of the crime, Gamba’s face turned even paler.
"No way...!? Could that be it? Is that why... why this happened!?"
"So you really do know something. Speak, Gamba. There’s still time. Before things truly become irredeemable, count your own sins!"
This incident had likely spiraled far beyond what either Gamba or Yugo had anticipated. Something different from the previous cases involving Human-transformed Magic Armor Beasts was happening in this Village.
Yugo felt the threat level of this unknown culprit steadily rising. But just as he moved to press Gamba for the whole truth, a sudden scream tore through the air.
"Waaaaaaah!"
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"
The two of them snapped their heads up as the cries echoed. Realizing the sounds were coming from the direction Jasmine had fled, they took off at a full sprint. When they arrived, they saw it.
"Jasmine!?"
"What on earth is that!?"
Standing in the middle of a panicked, fleeing crowd was a single shadow. Yugo’s eyes widened as he stared at the Blue Grasshopper-like Bipedal Magic Armor Beast. It held Jasmine aloft, clutching her tightly by the collar.
(No, it doesn't matter what that thing is right now! I have to save Jasmine first!)
There were still too many questions, but saving Jasmine from that monster was his only priority. As Yugo prepared to activate his Blaster, the Magic Armor Beast violently threw Jasmine aside.