- Chapter Seven -
The Burden of a Swordsman of Fire.
火の剣士の負担。
Rushing out of the classroom, Homura would make his way through the hallways before reaching the entrance, a few seconds before the rest of his classmates would, as he noticed what happened to be a jet black and dark blue wolf-like creature, wrecking the courtyard, as multiple huntsmen-in-training would try to rush at it, much to Professor Port's own chagrin, and to no surprise, the creature would send out a wave of dark blue energy, sending them flying backwards.
"Ookami…?" Homura asked himself, as Ruby seemed to recognize a little of the creature, sensing its familiarity. "Wait… isn't that the Big Bad Wolf? From the Red Riding Hood story?!" Realizing the meaning of what Ruby had meant, Homura found some odd symbolism in it, though he found it very odd that this particular Megid had been chosen by whoever was pulling the strings behind the Golem Megid that appeared out of nowhere during the Beacon Academy Initiation. Rushing towards the creature, he would take out the Seiken Swordriver stored within somewhere of his pouch, as he would equip it, the Driver echoing.
[SEIKEN SWORDRIVER!]
聖剣ソードライバー！
Taking out the Brave Dragon Wonder Ride Book, the Megid would take notice of him, as it would try to hack and slash at him, the Swordsman of Fire barely dodging the attacks as he ran from side to side, trying to maintain some level of distance. However, he would be caught by surprise, as the Megid would suddenly send out what appeared to be a grappling hook at him, catching him by the leg, as he was suddenly dragged towards the wolf creature.
However, Ruby would intervene at the last possible moment, attacking it with her scythe, and allowing Homura to be set free from its grip, as he made sure to open the Wonder Ride Book to its first and second pages, activating it, and allowing it to recite its story announcement.
[BRAVE DRAGON! Katsute, subete wo horobosu hodo no idaina chikara o tenishita shinjuu ga ita…]
ブレイブドラゴン！かつて全てを滅ぼすほどの偉大な力を手にした神獣がいた…
Quickly, Homura would then insert it the Driver, before he inserted the Kaenken Rekka into the weapon slot on the aforementioned Driver, before he would pull it out, opening the Brave Dragon Wonder Ride Book to its third page, before a giant holographic book projection would form behind him, to the surprise of the other students who had been watching the chaos unfold in front of them.
[REKKA~ BATTOU! BRAVE DRAGON~!]
烈火抜刀！ブレイブドラゴン！
The giant book manifestation behind Homura would also open, revealing the same face as the small book in the Driver, as Homura would twirl the sword in his hand, before dual wielding the hilt of the fiery red blade, as he would scream out, "Henshin!", in a loud tone that caught the surprise of everybody watching his transformation, as a red mechanical dragon would form, flying overhead and attacking the Megid, before then spinning around Homura, as it split to form the red Rider's armor.
[Rekka issatsu! Yuki no ryu to Kaenken Rekka ga majiwaru toki shinku no tsurugi ga aku wo tsuranuku!]
烈火一冊！勇気の竜と火炎剣烈火が交わる時、真紅の剣が悪を貫く！
As the dragon split into pieces, its red metallic scales forming the basis of the red Rider's armor, Homura would then execute a cross slash, waves of fire emanating from the sword in pure fury as it formed his visor, his helmet fully forming, and the visor materializing in a red 'X' formation. As the Driver then echoed a sort-of 'transformation phrase' some more, Homura would twirl around his blade, almost as if showing off his supposed prowess in his swordsmanship, the gigantic book manifestation dissolving into flames as they travelled back into his sword, like he was channeling them back in.
His blade would glow red, multiple runes on the blade flickering, as the blade announced its entry, unleashing its true power to the scene, and the emblem on its crossguard glowing a bright orange very briefly.
[Kaenken Rekka!]
火炎剣烈火！
And readying himself, he charged forwards towards the Megid, as he attacked it relentlessly, using the sword to continuosly parry whatever the wolf-like creature had to offer, before it would suddenly howl aggressively, sending a very powerful sound wave that would send Homura a good deals back, offering a good amount of resistance to the swordsman who tried to push forward, though was unable to, his efforts rendered in vain.
Yang would equip her gauntlets, rushing towards the Megid as she tried to punch it to the best of her ability, which would unfortunately find resistance in the form of the creature dodging and parrying her blows, before pouncing around the area aggressively, as Yang frustratingly chased after it to the best of her speed. Blake would also jump in, fighting against the Megid, as she used her pistol to throw it, like a grappling hook, trying to rush the creature in a different way.
And as Homura rushed towards the Megid as well, he would jump backwards, helping the other students get to safety somewhat, though most of them seemed pretty reluctant to run away from the battlefield in front of them. And that seemed to come as handy, as what appeared to be a large book embedded into the Megid's armor started to glow, as multiple shadows would escape the glowing book before forming into a good amount of Beowulves.
"Just my luck…" Homura lamented to himself, before the other students would charge in, attacking the horde of wolves that were now present in the compound, as the Professor also took matters into his own hands, taking out what appeared to be a battle axe, before he would suddenly hold it like a rifle, turning it into what appeared to be a blunderbuss with two axe blades attacked to the stock of the weapon, before firing away at the wolves.
Meanwhile, back to the Megid, as Blake, Yang and Homura charged at the creature, its left hand would suddenly glow a very light blue color, sort of resembling something along the lines of aquamarine or teal, before a hook line was sent from its hand, suddenly circling around the three fighters and tying them together, much to their own chagrin, as they tried their best to escape the confines of the rope, which seemed to be getting tighter and tighter.
However, Weiss would then intervene, using her rapier, of which its revolver handle was suddenly glowing a very light blue, freezing the rope, and allowing the three to break out of it, something Homura thanked Weiss for ever so slightly, before he would then charge at the Megid, as it took out what appeared to be a white-colored book very similar to the ones that Homura had, before it would open it, the book glowing brightly as the Megid would then disappear.
Gritting his teeth, Homura signalled to Teams RWBY and JNPR, as they defeated the last of the wolves that they were facing off against, as he took out the Book Gate Wonder Ride Book, activating it as he would open the book to its first page, revealing the image of a pale white and jet purple-coloured purple, before a dark brown oak door would then form in front of them, opening to reveal what appeared to be a portal, which seemed to look like a wormhole, with rows upon rows of books lining the walls.
As Ruby muttered absolute surprise, and Weiss and Jaune both muttered absolute confusion, the nine would then head into the door, as they were sent down the rabbit hole, into what Homura knew… was the Wonder World. And as they stepped into the door, falling down the wormhole, the door would close behind them, before vanishing, as Jaune could feel himself becoming motion-sick, struggling to keep himself upright as he screamed in panic, "Hold on a sec! I'm upside down!"
Homura only chuckled, as he then explained, "This… is the portal into the Wonder World. The place we went last time, forcefully. When the Golem Megid attacked us." Blake then enquired, "So that's what they are? Megid? What does that mean anyways?" Homura would then reply with, "I'm only referring to it as Megid based off the word 'armageddon'." He shrugged, as a few seconds later, they would land on what appeared to be solid ground, before another oak door formed in front of them, opening to reveal… what appeared to be a small room lined with bookshelves.
This was clearly where Homura had met the two figures who knew about his Ride Book, as one of them seemed to be present, the female figure overlooking them from what appeared to be a row of bookshelves opening. Homura was clearly intrigued, having never seen her do that, but the others were a varying level of either shocked, interested, or excited, each of them having different degrees of all three. "You know… you never introduced me the night you brought me here, you know," Homura commented, as the eight others would look at him confusedly. "You know her?" Weiss asked confusedly.
She would then introduce herself, in a very calm tone, "I am the Book Guardian of the Sword of Logos, Sophia. This is the Sky Base, currently located above - let's see here… - the skies of Atlas at this very moment." Weiss panickingly asked, "Atlas?! How has my father, or anyone else in Atlas, never heard of this place before?!" She could only shrug, as if not knowing how, before she continued, "Since ancient times, together with the swordsmen chosen by the sacred blades… we have protected a great book of power that has created this world, and preserved its balance…"
As the other eight members looked around, Homura would then ask, "Sophia-san, if you don't mind me asking… where is the other guy? The one who seemed to be very interested in my Ride Book…" She then replied, "Oh, do you mean Daishinji? He is currently out, but he should be back soon…" Homura then stated, "Ah. And I know we might have barged in very suddenly, but we're currently having a problem… a Megid problem."
And taking out his Driver, he then asked her, "If you say the blades choose the swordsmen… can I call myself a Kamen Rider even? Am I actually worthy of the title?" "Well, the sacred blade has decided that you are worthy of becoming a Kamen Rider. This battle is an endless one that began in ancient times… and will continue forevermore." "Back to the main topic… those Megid. What are they after?"
"They are creating replacements… for the lost Wonder Ride Books. Their ultimate goal is to recreate the book that birthed our world." Pyrrha looked at Sophia confusedly, before asking, "The book that birthed our world…? I thought legends said that mankind came from Dust?" She would look at her, before stating, "This is the part of the world that goes unnoticed, the legend that time has corroded greatly. If the rewriting progresses even further, it might pose a danger to the whole world!" Homura gulped a little, as he de-transformed, before looking up to her, stating, "That means we'll have to defeat the wolf Megid now lurking in the Wonder World…
We still have time, don't we?" He found himself very confused, searching for an answer, before stating something along the lines of, "Where there is determination… there must be hope, ain't it?!" Suddenly a glow formed from what appeared to be a small compartment near Blake's location, as it glowed bright enough that everybody was forced to shield their eyes. And as the light died down, Blake would pick up the book, as she asked in confusion, "What even… is this?"
"A book… that only a Seiken can use…" Homura asked, confusedly, "A Seiken…? Ah, frick, we don't have time for this… we have to go to the Wonder World now!" Sophia looked at him and then nodded, before departing, as Homura would then take out the Book Gate Wonder Ride Book once again, opening it and forming another portal, as he then stated, "We have to go now!" And as Team RWBY would follow him in, Nora could only comment, "I have no idea what is going on here!" Ren only replied, "Well, so do I. But eh, it's worth something knowing about this place. In the event that we have to fight in Homura's steed."
And so they went into the Wonder World, as they ended up in what appeared to be a ruined city, as Homura looked around, surprised, as he gritted his teeth, "So they've already done significant damage here…" The other eight would look around, as Homura then stated, "I know you might already be sick of me explaining everything, but right now, we need to look around, for where the Megid might even be lurking around."
They all nodded, as Homura would then transform back into Saber, taking out the mysterious book that Blake would pass to him, before inserting it into the third slot of the Driver figuring that it could only fit there, before he would then pull out the sword from the Driver, as a holographic projection of a book would appear in front of the book, as it read out, "Diago Speedy!"
[Hassha Bakusō! Diago Speedy~!]
発車爆走！ディアゴスピーディー！
Clearly, Saber was taken by surprise, as a giant projection of the Diago Speedy Wonder Ride Book would then appear, before opening and unfolding in such a meticulous manner that Homura couldn't comprehend himself, before then forming into what appeared to be a motorcycle, landing in front of Homura in a soft thud. Everyone else was clearly surprised, as Yang then commented, "Well, it's clearly a 'speedy' bike, but it's nowhere as good as Bumblebee!"
An awkward silence ensued, as Yang visibly struggled to hold a small amount of laughter, with Homura commenting, "That was a pun, wasn't it?" They all groaned audibly, before they would suddenly hear howling around them, seeing what appeared to be a horde of Beowulves appearing around them, the eight summoning their weapons. Weiss would then comment, "Well. They clearly knew that we're here." Homura sighed, as he then signalled, "Y'all use the bike and handle the wolves… I'll handle the Megid." Ruby and Jaune nodded, before they charged into battle.
Summoning the red dragon that formed his armor, Saber would hop on, as he searched for the Megid. He would find his answer, finding another swarm of Beowulf Grimms surrounding what appeared to be the Megid, as its jet black and navy blue clearly stood out. The amethyst pupils it had wasn't helping things either. And charging at it, Homura would manage to destroy most of the surrounding horde, before clashing with the Megid, slashing at it and the wolves that were charging at him.
And as Saber continued to charge at the Megid, on the other side of the battlezone, Yang had boarded the Diago Speedy, charging at the wolves as Blake, on the back seat, would then fire bullets at it, as more seemed to form. And Ren would hold up what appeared to be another book, as he chuckled, much to Pyrrha's surprise. "Where did you even get that?" "Happened to find it lying around somewhere in the base earlier… now how do I activate it?"
[GATRIKE PHONE!]
ガトライクフォン！
The four members of JNPR would look at the book-phone hybrid thing, before Pyrrha would then notice a small button on the phone screen, as she would then press it, as it seemed to resemble what appeared to be a vehicle. Suddenly, the phone would then close, almost like a folding phone, much to their surprise, as it would then leap out of Ren's hands, seemingly resembling a trike, before it suddenly would enlargen to about what a trike's size would be, before landing, forming into an actual vehicle.
[RIDE GATRIKER!]
ライドガトライカー！
"Ooh!" Nora chanted, "Now this is something I can get behind!" Immediately, Nora would get on the vehicle, piloting it with almost reckless abandon as Ren would hop onto the back, before she would then utilize what appeared to be the various controls, firing away at the swarms of wolves that were charging. Jaune and Pyrrha could only awkwardly chuckle, as he would comment, "That Sword of Logos place clearly has a lot of stuff…" Something she agreed with.
And as Saber continued to fight the Megid, he would charge the dragon at it, before hopping on the ground, sending the dragon attacking the wolves, as he continued to parry the Wolf Megid's blows, though just about barely. And as the Swordsman of Fire was sent flying by a dark blue claw attack, he would then rush towards the Megid, before taking out what appeared to be the Book Gate Wonder Ride Book, scanning it thrice on the silver tip of the Kaenken Rekka, as it suddenly charged up with dark brown and purple energy.
[BOOK GATE! MM-HM! BOOK GATE! MM-HM! BOOK GATE! NARUHODOU, NARUHODOU!]
Readying the blade, it would glow with flickering rules with seemed to resemble '火炎消える斬', as Homura would then stare at the Megid, before rushing towards it, screaming out something along the lines of, "Kaen~ Kieruzan! (Disappearing Flaming Slash!)", before he would then suddenly manage to disappear from sight, as the Megid ran towards Homura, before stopping in confusion. However, the Flaming Swordsman would then appear from behind, slashing it repeatedly as it then turned around, only to view nothing.
[SHUTOKU SANSEN!]
習得三閃！
Immediately, then Homura would appear again, before executing another powerful on the Megid, sending it flying away somewhat, before he would continue to repeat the same move multiple times, as the Megid would then be flying a good distance away,. The Megid would then get up, though Saber would then notice what appeared to be a light blue Wonder Ride Book in the corner of his eye, as he quickly rushed to grab it, the Megid also charging to get it. However, Homura would reach the Book first, picking it up and sending an attack at his opponent, slashing him with the blade and sending him flying backwards.
Holding the book in his hand, he would look at it, as he would read the engravings on it, "Peter Fantasista?" Looking at it, he noticed the illustration resembling what appeared to be Peter Fan, figuring out what it clearly meant. "Peter Pan, huh…?" He would then open the first page of the book, activating it as it would ring out, something Ruby would notice from her position.
[PETER FANTASISTA!]
ピーターファンタジスタ！
He would then turn the book to its second page, as it revealed the illustration of a light blue and aqua hook, as the book would then echo its story announcement.
[Toaru otona no naranai shonen ga kurihirogeru yume to kibou no story…]
とある大人にならない少年が繰り広げる夢と希望のストーリー…
As Homura closed the book, he would look at his Driver, seeing that it seemed to be able to fit in the third slot of the Driver, as he would close the page of his Brave Dragon Wonder Ride Book, which was inserted into the Driver, before inserting the Wonder Ride Book, the Peter Fantasista Wonder Ride Book glowing, as a holographic book projection would then form, before a giant manifestation of the two Wonder Ride Books manifested, forming behind him in a burst of flames, before Homura would grip onto the Kaenken Rekka, inserting the sword and pulling it back out.
[REKKA~ BATTOU!]
烈火抜刀！
And as he would twirl around the sword, he would extend out his left hand, before both of the giant books behind him would open, as a fairy would emerge from the gigantic Peter Fantasista Wonder Ride Book, before it would spin around his hand, as it would then form into more armor, a light blue arm with a hook attachment emerging.
[Nisatsu no hon o kasaneshi toki, seinaru tsurugi ni chikara ga yadoru! Wonder Rider! Dragon! Peter Fan! Futatsu no zokusei o sonaeshi yaiba ga togisumasareru!]
二冊の本を重ねし時聖なる剣こ力が宿る！ワンダーライダー！ドラゴン！ピーターファン！ニっの属性た備えし刃が研き澄まされる！
And as the two giant books would dissipate, leaving Saber in what was essentially a new form, he would look at himself, before holding out his blade, preparing for the next phase of the fight with the Megid. "Dragon Peter, huh?" At around the same time, Teams RWBY and JNPR had defeated the last of the wolves, as they rushed over to Homura's location, most of them finding surprise with his sudden new form. And as Homura charged into battle against the Megid, the rest would charge in, as Nora would then use her grenade launcher to fire multiple grenades at the Megid, distracting it.
Homura would then send out the hook, wrapping itself around it as he would then spin the Megid around, making it very dizzy, before sending it flying towards Ruby, who would then take multiple slashes, before Yang would send it back flying towards Homura, almost as if it were a game of ping pong. And after a few seconds ago, Homura would then send the Megid flying away, before then inserting the sword back into the belt, before pulling the trigger on the sword.
[HISSATSU DOKUHA!]
必冊読破！
Immediately, Homura would then pull out the sword, executing its finisher function, as he prepared to execute a finisher on the Megid, intent on defeating it once and for all.
[DRAGON~! PETER FAN~! NISSATSU GIRI! F-F-FIRE!]
ドラゴン一！ピーターファン！ニ冊斬り！ファイア！
Holding the sword in his hand, it would flicker red and blue, the runes forming something similar to '火炎引っ掛ける斬', as Homura would then scream, "Kaen~ Hikkakeruzan! (Flaming Hooking Slash!)", before rushing at the Megid, sending out the hook from his hand, and catching the Megid in his trap, as it would struggle to get out, before he would then pull the Megid towards him, before executing a slash, sending it flying backwards, and destroying it in an explosion.
And as a large explosion would occur, the eight huntsmen-in-training would run towards Homura, as he would then de-transform, looking at the wreckage, and seeing the city suddenly start to glow ever-so-slightly. "It's healing, huh…" Homura commented, before Weiss then mentioned, "Now that that's done… we should go back to /class/, seeing as it's still technically over."
Ruby made a tongue expression at her, commenting, "Party pooper!"