The newly appeared young man, Rai, chirped. His gaze went over the Invader and looked at the Guardians team.
"You guys survived! Good things! I thought I was late."
He swung his cane upward and walked to a nearby bench that got twisted around. A part of it was still able to be used as a normal bench, and he sat up without even thinking twice.
"Go ahead." Rai gestured toward the team, pointing at the Invader. "I will just watch here. Don't worry. I won't do anything against you guys."
The Invader seemed to take the young man's words seriously and didn't consider him a threat. He turned back to the team. His red eyes were now gone as if he closed them and didn't need to even see to deal with the team, mocking them with a low laugh.
"Kishisisisi."
Darkness seeped through the Invader's body, and he released the circular object in his hand and let it hang on his waist. Raising his hand, a silver sword appeared, and he gripped it tightly.
"TimE for DesseRt!"
Knowing that this situation wasn't the best for his team, Eric raised his rifle. The Invader was now serious about fighting them, and there was the danger of the unknown young man with Dark Magicule.
"Change of plan."
With a determined voice, he gave out a command.
"Ciel, you're the strongest among us. Can you watch the man with Dark Magicule for us? We will deal with the Invader quickly and fight him together."
Ciel nodded her head, "Yes. Leave it to me."
"Alright." Eric nodded back in response, narrowing his eyes toward the Invader. "Let's go!"
***
Rai never expected he would arrive at the perfect time to watch their fight.
'I am quite lucky.'
The Invader was still alive and well. Though the Demons couldn't be seen anywhere, they were already dead.
"Oh?"
It has begun.
Rai crossed his legs as he watched the Guardians rush over toward the Invader. They spread to minimize the danger of being wiped out at once.
Strangely, one of them was left behind. A precious vanguard and the only girl. She was looking in his direction with a wary gaze, pointing the muzzle of a rifle she had taken from the ground. The blade was slung back on her back inside a black sheath.
"Don't move," Ciel spoke in a commanding tone.
"I won't," Rai replied casually as he raised his head, showing that he had the intention to move. The cane in his hand disappeared in a mote of black lights as his lips rose into a smile. "Do you need me to strip too?"
"Huh?"
"I meant, isn't the standard procedure not to allow the villain to have anything on him? So I asked, should I strip my clothes?"
"N-No! Your trick to confuse me won't work."
The girl looked troubled by his words. She didn't expect him to say something like that.
"Hahaha, you actually look troubled." A loud laugh escaped Rai's lips as he covered his mouth with his fist.
"Don't worry, Miss Magical Girl. I truly won't do anything this time and was just here due to a coincidence. I saw Glitches and thought of watching your team fight the Invader."
Ciel narrowed her eyes at Rai's words."
"Watch? Weren't you the one who created Glitches and made the Invader?!"
"Hmm? That's an interesting theory." Rai hummed, looking at the girl with a soft smile.
Then he shrugged his shoulders, appearing to be disappointed. "But that thing wasn't our work." He pointed at the Invader, who deflected the beam bullet with his silver sword. "Though I am also curious of what his actual identity is."
A strong coffee scent washed over his nostril, inviting a smile to his face. The source was the red portal, and whatever was hidden behind that curtain of swirling red color surely had a thick Dark Magicule, probably as much as him.
'I can control my power just fine now.'
Thanks to his training, turning the effect of being able to smell Magicule was now possible. Now, he shouldn't focus on that. His goal here was to 'see' how the Guardians fought and get any information from them.
"If you're here to keep me from doing something to them, then cease your effort. If I were serious, I could deal with you as easily as I flip my palm. So just sit and relax."
Even after Rai said that, the girl seemed to have no intention of relaxing.
'Well, the smell of coffee overpowered the sweet smell coming from her. I guess she isn't really worth that much. Let's just ignore her for now.'
He turned his attention to the fight while still minding the girl. He could create a Magicule barrier instantly to block the beam bullet if he wanted to.
They didn't seem so strong as none of the Guardians had specialized tools like Ahri, and they also didn't seem to be able to transform.
'I guess they are just weak students. They also just let me, someone with Dark Magicule, be here and being watched by a single girl, showing how naïve they are. If I were their leaders, I would split my teams into two or just focus on one enemy first.'
Without a doubt, the team leader had already told his team about the danger he posed. That didn't seem to stop them from prioritizing the Invader.
Because it was just a Level 1 Invader, something even minions from Extity could beat.
The team led by a blue-haired boy attacked the Invader restlessly. The boy with a large build and long hair fought head-on with the dark figure, clashing his Magicule-coated blade against the silver sword.
"Get away!"
Eric shouted from the side when the other two were in position, making a four-way attack. The rifle hummed, and the metal turned bright red from accumulating Magicule inside. They were preparing a blast attack by converging the beam inside the rifle.
This typical attack could end a Level 1 Invader if hit directly, the simulation they experienced had become proof of it, and many Guardians teams often used it without an individual who could transform or had a specialized tool to actualize magic.
"Alright."
Shouting loudly, the man with a large build sent another attack that was aimed at pushing the Invader to the shooting range.
With the last push, the dark figure was right in the middle of the crossfire between the three Guardians. The Invader fell to his knees, and then the boy with a blade jumped back at full strength.
"Now!"
Eric shouted loudly and pulled the trigger of his rifle.
At the same time, an electric current zipped through the gun, and then it shot a ball of condensed Magicule from each gun.
The three balls let out an electric current running around them as they flew toward the incapacitated Invader, creating a bright blue Magicule explosion that spread like a large ball as they collided.
*Booom!!*
A loud explosion followed suit, and Rai clapped his hands.
*Clap clap clap*
"Bravo! That was a wonderful fight!"
The explosion kicked dust into the air, filling the area with a white cloud. The ground shook, and the team celebrated.
Standing up, the black cane from earlier appeared in his hand again. Suddenly…
*Zap!*
*Pang!*
"Don't move!"
The girl shot the rifle in her hand, and Rai deflected the Magicule bullet by creating a semi-transparent barrier with his right hand.
"I said that I wasn't looking for a fight, no?" His smile dropped as he narrowed his eyes dangerously toward the girl.
The barrier disappeared and turned into a black fog that he once again absorbed. That way, the Magicule he used to create the barrier recovered again, though it decreased slightly from the damage done by the bullet.
Also…
"Well, the Glitches are still here." He muttered, looking in the direction of the cloud of dust that slowly dissipated. "It seems like your friends' fight isn't over yet."
Surprised, the girl turned toward her friends, who gathered and were about to approach her and fight Rai.
"Noo!!"
Just as she shouted that, a thin shadow appeared from within the cloud of dust and pierced the long-haired boy's stomach, raising him into the air.
"Kah!"
The Guardians stopped, looking at his friend with wide eyes.
"H-Help!"
Extending his hand toward his team leader, the boy was desperate.
"Sagi!" Eric recovered first and tried to grab his teammate's hand, but it was too late.
*Zoop!*
The black shadow moved back inside the cloud of dust, bringing the boy with him. The blade fell to the ground with a thud, and the space became silent, except for the gruesome sound of something broken inside.
*Crack! Crack*
Without anyone needing to point out, they knew that the boy's fate was sealed. The Guardians' faces turned pale, and a mechanical voice from Eric's System Watch broke the silence.
[A change has been detected inside the Glitches!]
[Warning! Excess Dark Magicule inside the Glitches has been detected!]
[Invader's Level has increased. It is now Level 2!]
"T-T-T-TiMee for SlaUghtER!!"
The figure of the Invader showed up. Now his blood-red eyes were opened, and his dark figure was covered in blood. The long-haired boy's lifeless body was in his arm, dragged through the shattered space, leaving a red trail behind.
"It's round two!"
And a cheerful voice followed suit.
"Well then, Miss Magical Girl." Rai turned to the girl, who was trembling from fear. "Shall we have fun too?"