And while Senzo was learning more and more about the awakening of Earth, the three horsemen had already reunited with Pest and were now rushing toward the safe zone.
"Hmph! This much is nothing; I wish he'd summoned me to fight that shadow creature!" War grumbled while carrying Ihachigo on his back.
"Typical..." Pest muttered while floating next to the blood-red giant.
Death wasn't in the mood to deal with War's usual antics, so he just rolled his eyes and kept going forward while carrying Yugiri in his arms.
She was the only one small enough for him to carry, but also the only one brave enough to be carried by him.
She had a silly smile on her face as she looked at the funny skeleton carrying her.
"Hehehe."
Famine, on the other hand, was carrying the young Hyoubu with a troubled expression on his face.
Why me... this guy's an old man...
Well, there was nothing he could do; his master had ordered him and the others to bring them all back and fast.
"Grrr!"
War was making all kinds of weird, annoyed noises while running as if he wasn't carrying a large metal machine.
"Luckily we have you, eh, War," Pest teased. He was walking all the way to the left of everyone, with War positioned between him and the others—none of the humans could bear his stench.
Don't worry, I'm used to it...
"Yeah, unlike a certain skunk."
"..."
Sophie and the others who were being carried by spectral warriors tensed their bodies and held their breaths, hoping nothing would happen.
"Haaah..."
Death couldn't help but sigh. "Do they have to do this every damn time?" he grumbled.
Famine just shrugged; War and Pest had been at each other's throats since their first meeting many eons ago.
He was used to it, but Death loved peace and quiet, so he had tried countless times to intervene in their dumb rivalry. But each and every time he had failed miserably.
"Just give it a rest, De; you know how they are."
"I know, okay! But that doesn't mean it's fine; those bastards always ruin my peace and quiet, and whenever they're summoned together, I'm summoned with them to keep them in check... Aaaah!"
Sophie, Magi, and the others kept their mouths shut, observing the spectacle of the four summons.
"Heh, well that's what you're here for. You're basically the elder brother that they both listen to."
And while Famine and Death were reminiscing about old times, Pest and War were going back and forth like a bunch of wild dogs.
"Barbarian!" Pest snapped back.
"Is that all? You dirty skunk."
"You already said that, muscle brain!"
"..."
But before anything else could happen, Death had had enough.
"Stop it before I teach both of you a lesson," he said, releasing his chilling aura at full force.
And even though he had basically perfect control over it, Yugiri and the others still felt shivers run down their spines as they broke out in cold sweat.
"Fine..." War and Pest replied simultaneously.
No matter how many times they experienced it, that aura... they could never get used to it.
Damn you! They thought simultaneously while glaring at one another, but it looked like Death's warning had calmed them down.
Because they didn't say another word until they arrived at the safe zone once more.
"Finally. War, you knock on the door and just guard the humans until they're safely inside."
"Understood."
War summoned a massive hammer and knocked a couple of times on the door, making sure Senzo would hear it.
***
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"What the hell!?"
Suddenly Senzo, Emi, and Naosuke felt the whole safe zone shake violently and heard someone knocking on the door.
That is, if you could even call it knocking.
"That should be them... But I'll have to teach the one who knocked some damn manners!" Senzo stated, rubbing his temples.
The sleeping Asako had even woken up from all the commotion.
"Nnn."
She slowly stirred awake as her iron grip on Senzo's body loosened, and he put her down gently.
"Good morning, Asako, I'll be right back."
Senzo said with a pat on her head, and he made his way toward the entrance.
After the doors opened, he finally saw them all standing there safe and sound.
"Come in."
He said while pointing at the inside.
Sophie and the others quickly entered the large white room one after another, glad to be away from those troublemakers.
And when everyone had safely entered the safe zone, Senzo's whole vibe shifted, from the relaxed young man to an angry commander.
"Who the hell thought it was a good idea to knock that damn hard?" he demanded.
Without hesitation, everyone pointed at War, even the spectral warriors he had summoned.
"..."
Senzo stood there for a moment just staring at the massive blood-red giant; he had expected it, but to see everyone selling him out like that was quite unexpected.
"I'll deal with you later... and good work, you all," he muttered awkwardly, scratching his cheek.
Then, with a wave of his arm, they all vanished—the four horsemen and hundreds of spectral warriors alike.
"Haaah, they might be more troublesome than I expected..."
Then he lifted up Ihachigo with his vector manipulation and also reentered the safe zone.
After putting down Ihachigo in a corner so it wouldn't be in the way, he made his way toward the center of the room, where everyone was sitting quite awkwardly.
Sophie and Momiji were seated next to each other, with Yugiri sitting on Sophie's lap, staring at the still-sleepy Asako with wide eyes.
"Ah! There are my companions: from right to left, we have Sophie, Yugiri, and Momiji. Then there's the little boy who gives off the vibe of a gramps—that's Hyoubu."
But before he could continue with the others, Yo jumped in, ready to introduce himself and Magi.
"And I'm Fujiura Yo, always at your service, ma'am. And next to me is my less handsome vice-captain, Shirō Magi."
He rubbed the space between his nose and upper lip, a satisfied smile forming.