"So, what's the first thing about being a hero?" That question was asked to me as though I know the answer. Hikayu and I stood outside the building as I struggled to figure that out.
"I genuinely just… go help people?" I shrugged.
"Well, that's step one already done!" Hikayu smirked. "Next?" She asked me.
"… Um…" For me, I never placed any thought in me going out and being a hero. I just… did it. "That's… a good question." I was legit stuck on what to say. What was the next step in being a hero? Just being a nice guy and helping out isn't enough… Especially since the fate of the world relies on her learning to fight, and even then, that comes to me naturally through mimicking the movements. It might work on Re:Shocker, but remembering my experiences fighting Yuuya and Altair, in which my fights with them nearly killed me, those movements can only carry me so far…
I figured it was time to ask a professional…
"Cut! Perfect!" The director announced the signal for Shindou to break his character and leave the set to get a sandwich. "Alright, switch." Shindou noticed a man in a suit come on the set in his place. The suit was almost a 1:1 recreation of Dante's Fuji Mount, save for a metallic chest, long, sharp fins on his arms, and the Volcano Belt being replaced with an Amazons Driver. There was a reason for the deviation, as Toei believed it can kill two birds with one stone by setting Dante in the Amazons universe, the slight modifications being done to bridge the gap between Amazons and Dante.
Shindou didn't mind. Since the incident, he wasn't sure what was happening with him becoming Dante. He was told that the original wearer of the belt decided to continue being Dante and that he would be an understudy. Good. The most he had to deal with prior to the café incident was boxing against someone who was one class higher than him.
It would have been one thing if he was just given the role, but the duty as well? He silently prayed for a time where he wouldn't be the next Dante.
"Alright, and… act-" As soon as the director announced the beginning of the next scene, the doors opened.
"Hey, Shindou?" Shindou noticed Hoshi alongside a pink-haired woman next to him walking through the door. Instantly, the director turned around, his left eyelid twitching. "Um… Can I borrow him for a bit?"
Cinder Fall
I was lucky that the staff was filming the fight scenes involving Dante for the rest of the day, since that meant Shindou would be able to teach Hikayu how to fight.
"H-hold on…" Shindou walked with us to his car. "I can't exactly dump an entire class in one sitting."
"But you can show her the ropes! She just needs to fight is all." I said to him.
"Yeah, but it also requires exercise and training. You can't just learn that overnight…" He opened the door to his car, a simple Honda Civic, and got into the driver seat. I got in on the backseat next to Hikayu.
"Even so, I just need to know enough to hold my own. Give me the basics at least." Hikayu said. Shindou sighed, then started the car.
"Alright… I guess I can teach you some things. But not here…" He pulled away from his parking lot and drove off.
As I rode the car on the road for about two hours, I couldn't help but notice the large mountain we were driving by. My eyes widened as I looked out the window.
"Wait, that's…" I recognized the outline of the mountain. It was the very mountain that I named Dante's main form after: Mt. Fuji. I had a sense of excitement building up inside my body as I thought of the three of us trekking up it and having this really cool training montage…
Though, he soon stopped his car at a parking lot and opened the doors.
"We're here." He said. I looked around… This wasn't the usual place to begin a journey up Mt. Fuji. I got out of the car, as did Hikayu. Strange… The only notable thing about the location was a bunch of… trees…
A heavy pit at the back of my throat began to form as I remembered learning about this in school… Aokigahara, the Sea of Trees.
"This is where I like to go when I do some soul searching. Also helps to do a jog on the path provided and a few practice jabs." Shindou said.
"Ah! Like a test of courage! I remember Masayuki and I going on one before." Hikayu was the first to address the otherwise unsettling nature of this forest. Most people who knew of this forest also knew of the dark name it had: the Suicide Forest, named that because of how many people would take their lives there.
"Ah, sorry… My mind kinda slipped." I raised an eyebrow as Shindou said that. "… Marine and the others told me about what happened with Setsuna and…" I looked away and frowned. "I didn't mean to open old wounds. If anything, this place opens some old wounds of mine as well."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Hikayu asked.
"… I'll explain as we move." Shindou walked towards the path.
While it was paved well enough, the plastic tape that bordered the paths and the trees that blotted out our sight a few feet past the tape made the forest that much more intimidating.
It was to the point where the path felt safer than it already is.
"Back in high school, my parents went on a business trip to America. The company they worked for ended up getting successful and so they stayed, sending Kotoha and I money to help us with the basic essentials and a little bit leftover for luxury. However, upon my senior year, Kotoha came down with an illness." Shindou said.
"No…" Hikayu held her hand to her mouth.
"Doctors were convinced that she'd not make it to her 18th birthday and… well… The thought that you're going to be alone… It got too much to me. Heard about this place and…" Shindou's voice became a mutter.
"You thought you'd be free from the pain?" I asked.
"Yeah. But… That's the thing. I didn't know how I was going to pull it off. I forgot to bring rope, pills, or even a knife. I just decided to enter the forest and just… wait. Those twelve hours I was in there were perhaps the most painful of my life. I hadn't eaten and I had a water bottle that ran out within two hours. Eventually, I found myself lost in the forest, alone like I had feared." Shindou said.
"What made you reconsider your… attempt?" Hikayu asked.
"… I came across a dead body. The first time I saw it, I freaked out… But the more I looked at it… The more I realized how that could have been me… And… then, I heard voices and felt the wind push me towards the path. Police were doing a routine sweep of the forest at the time, found me, and guided me back to the lot." Shindou stopped, then looked towards the woods.
"You thought about how your family would miss you. I understand your pain." I said.
"I feel like… these spirits in the woods saved my life. I owe it to that person to continue living. I went back and worked with a counsellor to put my foot into the boxing arena. I literally fought for Kotoha's survival, yes, but I also fought for myself… That's why I'm a good boxer." He then turned to Hikayu. "And that's the lesson today: Don't fight because you're told to. Fight for yourself and others. Now, let's do some jogs. Careful, the floor is literally cooled lava." With that, he held up his fists and began to jog, throwing some jabs here and there. Hikayu quickly adapted and followed Shindou, as did I.
We spent the next hour working out. Shindou taught Hikayu the basics in boxing skills, with the added caveat of teaching her how to fight with her non-dominant hand in case the situation called for it.
"Sometimes switching to southpaw will give you an advantage, especially when you fight for so long in orthodox." Shindou said.
"T-thanks…" Hikayu was short of breath. I noticed that the parking lot was within a three-minute walk.
"Hoshi, I'm swinging by to visit my sis. You wanna come?" Shindou asked me. I sighed. I hadn't seen Honoka since New Year's… I didn't want to remind myself of the pain and regret of her near-death. Though, I couldn't say no to Shindou's offer.
"Sure…" I said. We took a bit to catch our breath, went to the car, then drove back to Tokyo.
"Hmm? You wanted to speak to me in private, right?" Ohnishi asked Souta as the two were outside on the roof of the planning office.
"Yes. It's about the fan disk. You've figured out what you want to give Hikayu?" Souta asked.
"Hmm… A fighting game spin-off, probably." Ohnishi shrugged.
"Well, I have an idea. You know about Magical Slayer Mamika's cancellation?" Souta asked him.
"Who hasn't? The news was a shock to her fans, both the kids and the adults. It was probably the best season of Magical Slayer that Toei made." Ohnishi said.
"The Elimination Chamber Festival is meant to be a story that caters to fans. It wouldn't be fair to not at least include some nod to Mamika." Souta asked.
"Hmmm… What are you suggesting?" Ohnishi asked.
"I… I want you to make Hikayu the next Mamika!" Souta declared. Ohnishi held his head up with his finger and thumb, thought for a bit, then nodded.
"That can be interesting. The fan disk falls under the doujinshi laws so even if her Creators wanted to, they can't easily bust it… And getting Hikayu into some cosplay would be a bonus…" He gave a dopey grin. "I'll get to work on it." He walked away as Souta gave a smile.
"I knew you'd find a way to get her in the festival." Souta turned around to see Shimashima standing by the fence.
"Shimashima…" Souta muttered.
"Don't worry. I want Mamika as badly as you do. I'll see to it that news of this doesn't reach her studio's ears until they can do nothing about it." Shimashima said. Souta paused for a bit. He knew who Shimashima was. The man who raised Setsuna to the heights of stardom. Though, there was one question on his mind.
"… Where were you?" Souta asked.
"Hmm?" Shimashima asked.
"When Setsuna was being attacked… Where were you to help her?" Souta asked. He noticed Shimashima frown a bit before he sighed.
"I wanted to defend her. But it was out of my hands. The moment controversy struck, higher ups forbade me from even associating with her for the sake of preserving my reputation." Shimashima said.
"You could have done something, though! Anything!" Souta shouted. Shimashima shook his head.
"Believe me, I would have. However, with the way society is with reputation, there really wasn't much I could do." He said. Souta and Shimashima stared at the setting sun, both unsure what to say next.
"… Those accusations… they were fake. Kurakuma confessed to the plagiarism claims being fabrications." Souta said.
"I know." Shimashima coldly replied. "The fact that everything went to hell over lies… It makes me sick." Shimashima slammed his hand against the fence. Souta jumped a bit, though calmed as he noticed Shimashima shallowly breathing. "Sorry… Just, with everything going on, Altair, Magane, Re:Shocker… I have to wonder. Where would we all be if at least one person stood up for Setsuna? That's the reason all this is happening, right? She committed suicide because no one was there to help her, and now her Creation wants revenge."
"I… wouldn't know…" Souta muttered.
"Of course not. I shouldn't have asked you… You've never been in that position before, right?" Shimashima then walked away as Souta's pupils shrunk. Once Shimashima was gone, Souta took off his glasses and began to weep…
"Hey! Big bro Shin!" Kotoha greeted us as we walked into the room. She then looked at Hikayu and smiled. "Wow! You look so pretty!"
"I-I do?" Hikayu blushed. I was a little thankful that her story is mostly gated towards demographics that Kotoha was not a part of, since otherwise she'd be recognized and this would be another person we'd need to explain to about Creations in our world.
"Your hair's very nice! The doctors wouldn't let me dye my hair." Kotoha frowned.
"M-my hair is natural!" Hikayu blushed. That, on the other hand, was concerning. I probably should have asked the guys for a wig. Though, we seemed to laugh it off, though.
"So, how's filming going?" Honoka asked Shindou.
"Smoothly. We're filming side-by-side with Amazons's second season, but releasing the week after Amazons's finale at the end of June. Toei's experimenting with a three-episode limited series for Dante. If it's successful, they might make more limited runs like that for other Riders." Shindou said.
"Are you allowed to share details like that?" Honoka asked.
"Yeah, I just can't spoil plot details outside of it being an original story." Shindou said.
"Obviously to tie into the Elimination Chamber Festival." I noted.
"Yeah. If it becomes popular enough, Toei might make a twelve-episode series next year." Shindou said.
"Eh, I doubt it." I muttered followed by a chuckle.
"So, how are you doing, Hoshi?" Honoka asked me.
"… Eh, been doing good." I shrugged.
"I see you got yourself a-" I knew the flirtatious tone from a mile away and rather than let her finish it and make Hikayu flustered all over again, I spoke up.
"Actually, she's already taken." Hikayu looked at me briefly, then nodded.
"My name is Hoshikawa." Hikayu bowed.
"Heh, that'd be a little confusing." Honoka muttered.
"She's a new intern." I added.
"Intern? You mean…" Honoka asked.
"Yeah, I decided to go back to work." I didn't tell her the entire story, of course, but for all rights and merits, that was basically my situation. "Akagi also joined."
"Wait, he has?" Honoka raised an eyebrow. While Shindou and Honoka were both in on the truth, Kotoha wasn't and I wanted to minimize the number of people who knew about the Creations to a minimum.
"He seems to have a fine time fitting in, I'll admit." I said.
"Well, that's good…" Honoka said.
"Yeah… Speaking of, it's gonna sound weird, but can Hoshikawa live at your place? With me living with Akagi, the house is empty and my apartment is rather cramped." Not to mention that, with my address leaked onto the internet, I didn't want to have Hikayu suddenly being harassed. Honoka thought about it, then smiled.
"I don't mind. She seems nice enough to keep it tidy while I'm away." Honoka chuckled. There was a bit of a silence between us before I began to scratch the back of my head.
"Well, I won't hold you guys any longer." I was about to leave before Honoka spoke up.
"Starry, you're leaving without a hug?" She asked. I froze in place, then looked to Honoka before I went over and hugged her. She hugged me back. And then…
"I'm… I'm sorry…" All at once, I remembered holding her in my arms when she was shot. From there, I remembered Mizuki's death. Honoka just stroked my back as I began to sob. "I love you…" I felt stuck onto Honoka, my face burning as my tears soaked her robe.
"It's okay… I love you too…" Honoka, meanwhile, whispered softly in my ear.
"Is… something wrong?" Kotoha asked us.
"No… Just…" I pulled myself away from Honoka and wiped some tears. "I love her that much that… I… just started crying." I forced a laugh. Kotoha seemed like the kind of teenager who was still stuck in a naïve mindset.
"Oh, yeah, I get that. Big Bro Shin does that too from time to time, right?" Kotoha asked Shindou.
"I… W-…. N-not in front of Honoka!" Shindou blushed as I began to feel genuine laughter for once. It was nice to leave the room with a high note than a low one.
As we were leaving the hospital, Shindou spoke up.
"So, you want me to drop you off?" Shindou asked.
"No, that's okay. Thanks for all the help today. Besides, there's the matter of finding Hoshikawa a home to stay at." I said. While I knew that Celesia and Meteora were living with Marine and I lived with Dr. Gilmore and Akagi, I wasn't sure of the other Creations. I'd assume Rui and Yuuya would live with their Creators, though given Yuuya's… rough interaction with Yatoji, I doubt he'd be living with him. "Gonna text Ohnishi to see if he has room for her." I took out the phone, only for Hikayu to quickly leap over and cover the screen.
"Please no!" She blushed as tears began to well up.
"Well… There is another place." I said. I looked over to Shindou. "I can walk her to it, don't worry."
"Alright, but if you need a lift, I'm a text away." Shindou said before he got into his car and drove off.
"You ever been to Akihabara?" I asked Hikayu.
The trip to Akihabara wasn't too long, but it was clear that the sun was just over the horizon and, within a half hour, the warm orange glow would be replaced with a blackish blue night sky.
"The house shouldn't be far…" I said to her. Though, as we did, I wasn't able to notice someone in front of me until…
Bump.
It was a middle schooler. She was about to fall onto the ground before I grabbed her arm and helped her up.
"Sorry about that…" I said. I couldn't help but notice the school uniform on her. It was, for all rights and merits, a gray dress with a pretty red bow front and center. She wore a white cap that fitted over her head, leaving room for her short, mint green hair to show. Naturally, I froze.
There was a reason I felt hesitant to have Hikayu come with me without dealing with her hair. Japan had a culture where dyeing your hair while you're still in school is considered bad form. The only cover story I made for her was that her school was relaxed on those rules. But… A middle schooler with dyed hair?
No… This isn't a normal person. This is a Creation.
"No, I'm sorry." The girl dusted herself off, then looked at me with her matching eyes. "I'm… looking for someone." Telling from the uniform, I knew who she was referring to.
"It… seems awfully late for you to be looking around." I chuckled, though that awkward energy was something even she knew.
"Please! She's very important to me! I just need to know where she is!" She… No doubt about it.
"Who are you looking for?" Hikayu asked.
"My classmate… Kirameki Mamika." I knew it. While I hadn't watched the show, the fact that Mamika was a Creation involved in this scuffle meant that I was able to see pictures of her from the anime, particularly her school uniform. If I saw the pictures right, this was Mamika's friend, Kirishima Melt.
"I… do apologize, but we haven't come across anyone by that name. Sorry." Hikayu bowed to Melt who, understandably, frowned.
"Okay…" Her voice was notably lowered.
"Kirishima!" I turned to see a person approach us. He had short, blackish gray hair. He wore a light, brown winter coat with a blue scarf around his neck and jeans. "Sorry. She went out on her own and I had to fetch her before she got cold. Come…" The man took off his coat and placed it over Melt, who took it and held on to the rather oversized jacket. The man, now, was wearing a gray shirt with short sleeves.
"You know him?" I asked Melt.
"Yeah. Shirayuki has been taking care of me." Melt said. I looked over to Shirayuki. He didn't strike me as someone odd. If anything, he might have been just a person who came across Melt and didn't know any better. Still, it was good to note that a Creation wasn't in the hands of Altair just yet. I'll make a call to the group and inform them of Melt's appearance.
"My name's Hoshikawa Hikayu. A pleasure to meet you." Hikayu offered her hand to him.
"Shirayuki Yuichi. Don't worry about the mannerisms." Yuichi shook Hikayu's hand. "It's been rather crazy these past few days, huh?"
"Yeah. We shouldn't let you two stand out here any longer. Goodnight." I said. Yuichi gave a wave before leaving with Melt, all while I decided to head over.
"Come, the house is this way." I said. Hikayu looked at Yuichi and Melt, then walked with me.
As we got to the house, I took out my keys and shuffled through to the one that let me into Honoka's house.
"Fujioka, you know about Kirishima's friend, don't you?" Hikayu asked me.
"… What makes you think that?" It distracted me from the keys.
"Before you bumped into her, you felt so happy! Then, afterwards, once she asked about Kirameki, you didn't even want to introduce yourself to Shirayuki or Kirishima." Hikayu said.
"…" I put away my keys, then spoke up. "I… knew Kirameki. She was the nicest person I could ever meet… Even if our time was brief…"
"Was… No… You don't mean…" Hikayu's voice when she's sad wasn't a strange noise to hear. What was, however, was the small twinge of despair in her voice. The fact that she was able to pick up what I meant and make her own conclusion told me that she was no stranger to death.
"… Yeah… I didn't have the courage to tell her that she's dead." I said.
"Fuji…" She shook her head. "Hoshi…" It was first time she called me by my given name.
"She wasn't the first person who died in these battles… And she wasn't the last…" My hands shook before I dropped to my knees.
"Hoshi!" Hikayu got onto her knees too and held me before I fell flat on the ground.
"I've… seen too many people die or even come close to the brink of death…" Without thinking, I held Hikayu in the same way I held Honoka and just cried. "My own sister… I thought she died twice! I… can't go through this pain again… That's why…"
"That's why you didn't want me to fight." Hikayu tightened her grip on me.
"I don't want anyone else to die… This… has to stop!" I cried out.
"… Then we both know what has to be done, don't we?" Hikayu wiped my tears and helped me up. "Before, I didn't think I could be able to fight. I only decided to go along with it because everyone else thought I could. I don't know the pain you've went through, but… I know how deep that pain is. So long as these people keep hurting others, that pain's only going to worsen. That's why…" Hikayu gripped her fists. "I will participate in the Festival, no matter what my combat experience is. I… think I know what it means to be a hero." She let go and looked at my face. "You have a very nice smile, Hoshi. I want to protect it, along with everyone else's." I ended up grinning and, I was about to give her the very same thumbs up that I remembered from the man who saved my life, but…
"Chabok…" I noticed something in the bushes.
"Hoshikawa…" I muttered. Just then, I pushed her down. "WATCH OU- AAAARG!" The first thing I sensed was shooting pain I felt in my shoulder. It drudged up old wounds from fighting the hound. The next thing I saw was a cobra-headed monster latching his head onto my shoulder before retracting to its body. I knew this was the cobra monster I fought earlier, but now it had the body of his rhino friend.
"Must you always interfere?" He hissed.
"You… Killed your own ally for his power too?" I asked him.
"He was weak!" The head was now fully retracted. The only remnant of the rhino's head was a stony exterior that coated the cobra's hood.
"You're… truly a monster now." I took out my Volcannik Driver and loaded the shells in.
FIREFLY SHELL! BOMBARDIER SHELL! CICADA SHELL!
The monster tried to strike me once more, only for me to roll out of the way.
"It's not you I'm after… That girl is mine!" The cobra monster said.
"Hikayu! Run! Alert the others!" I shouted. Hikayu ran as I loaded the final bullet.
TIGERMANDER SHELL!
Just as the cobra head began to stretch out, revealing a long, snake body that tethered itself to the neck of the rhino, shouted out:
"HENSHIN!" And fired at the head.
CROSS FIRE!
The four bullets flew out and changed into their respective aural versions. They struck the cobra and singed his flesh before the four flew to me, firefly on the chest, bombardier beetle on the arms, cicada on the legs, and lastly the tiger salamander engulfing my head to become the helmet. For the first time since I last fought Malacoda, I had assumed Toranity Mount.
"You're opponent will be me, Kamen Rider Dante!" I pointed at myself with my thumb before spinning the barrel two times, with each spin causing more and more flames to engulf the gun.
"You… will make a tastier snack… CHABOK!" As he ran at me, I pulled the trigger.
YELLOWSTONE BURST!
Each blast was brighter and hotter than when I normally fired my gun, all while my limbs, while feeing the heat building up, didn't sear my skin like it did when I was using the Volcano Belt.
"This one's for Mizuki!" The charcoal armor on my arm erupted and became a hot, magma red glove, which I used to Rider Punch the monster right at the stony part of his armor. The armor distributed the heat throughout, with the place where I had punched it melting. I then fired at the gaping hole, striking the cobra right at the exposed flesh.
However, he seemed to enjoy it.
"Hmmmm! You're a tough nut to crack… But snakes are known to squeeze…" He then leaped and flew at me with a high speed that I previously saw in Mizuki's Kaizo-Majin form. This was most likely how he got the jump on me and Hikayu. Well, two can play at that game. I spun the revolver thrice and fired.
SAKURAJIMA BURST!
I suddenly got a burst of heated wind beneath my feet as I blasted the cobra off of me. The two of us, now at a very high speed, ran at each other and clashed, pass through each other, then ran at each other once more. We rose higher and higher into the air, all while I kept him occupied by firing at him. Dodging the bullets did not deter his path in any way, as he kept striking me.
Just when I thought I had an advantage, he struck me with the stingray's tail and knocked me down right into an alleyway. My body made a decently sized crater, the ground cracking beneath the impact. Thankfully, I didn't feel my back break, and I think I owe that to my armor taking most of the brunt force.
I got up as the cobra landed, loading the specially made bullet that Dr. Gilmore made into the fifth, unused hole.
FINAL SHELL!
I then spun the revolver.
TORANITY EXPLOSION!
I held up the now blazing revolver and aimed it at the cobra.
"Rider… SHOOTING!" Just as I was about to pull the trigger, the pain from the cobra's bite caused my arm to jolt and throw off my aim. The blast, a stream of flames, lava, and heated air that spiraled around a fireball, became off center as the cobra ran. Once he got within the reach of the beams, he slid to the right, the streams only burning off the mid-portion of his armor, before he struck me with another bite, this time to the neck.
I began to choke as I felt my neck swell and I fell down onto the ground, my armor flashing gold and breaking down into ash. I struggled to keep up, only to feel the poison from both wounds course through. My right arm seized up while I felt pain trying to even breathe. I wasn't suffocating, though, I still got air in through my nose, but it was a small supply and I might run out soon…
"Now… To claim my prize…" The cobra man poised his head to strike… Only for the both of us to feel a sudden drop in temperature.
I felt the ground beneath me, a rather damp pavement, suddenly freeze beneath my fingers. The air became colder, to the point where our breaths would show. The cobra man suddenly turned his head up. I sat up as well, forcing the pain down as I saw someone approach us.
It was a man who wore dull cyan spandex. His gloves, boots, and even his armor were more akin to frozen ice. Even his helmet looked like an iceberg as six red "eyes", arranged in a hexagon and split by what appears to be a white snowflake, looked like its true face was trapped beneath the ice. Two of the eyes, the ones on the upper left and right corners, were larger and showed a more compound appearance.
"Leave the boy alone." While at first glance, it did not look like one, it was clearly a Kamen Rider who had arrived onto the scene.
"And who are you to interrupt my feast, chabok?" The cobra asked. The icy Rider did not respond, instead walked towards the cobra, every step freezing more and more of the ground beneath him. The cobra hissed in rage and tried to strike, only for the Rider to slowly come apart, transforming into a human sized blizzard that breezed past the cobra, sparks flying from the remnants of the rock-hard rhino armor. The Rider reformed from the snowflakes as the cobra shook. "You bastard… WHO ARE YOU!?" The cobra turned around and ran at the Rider. He sighed and turned his body into an icy clear liquid.
The cobra ran through the liquid, splashing all over him. The Rider's form was temporarily broken before it reformed and changed back to a normal state, all while the liquid still on the cobra began to freeze. The cobra began to scream before he was completely silenced, now nothing more than a frozen snake.
"You wish to know who I am?" The Rider asked the clearly not-responding monster. "I am the white darkness at the end of the world… So, my name should be appropriate, right? My name is Kamen Rider…" His body then began to build up in ice. The chest armor grew larger while the hands and feet looked more like slabs of ice than limbs, all while the helmet began to grow icy spikes and obscured the six eyes until only the two larger ones remained. He then roundhouse kicked the frozen cobra, shattering the monster into tiny debris that fell like snow. "Verge."
I looked on in shock. Whenever I defeat a Kaizo-Majin, the monster form shatters and leaves behind the person. But now, that yakuza man, even though he killed at least two people, had his life ended before my eyes. As I thought about it, I felt the poison in my body continue to course. The Rider, now named Verge, changed back to his normal form, took out a dagger, then attached a white blade onto the dagger to make it longer.
DOC BLADE!
"This will hurt for a bit…" He then stabbed me. At first, I thought that was it… But… I didn't feel pain. Instead, I felt the poison fade, my throat receded and I was able to breathe. Even the pain I felt in my body was gone. He pulled out the blade, then put it away. He took a moment to look at me, then walked away. Despite the healing, I felt drained from the fight. Perhaps it was because I overexerted myself. I closed my eyes and fell asleep, though the last thing I noticed was Hikayu telling some people that she found me.
At least I would be getting some help.