Kamen Rider Alterum
Episode 3: And So the Night Falls
"A real man needs a good bike to accompany him."
"What is it, grandpa?"
Old man laughed upon hearing my question. "A quote, by me. Old people need to sound cool when they say such things to their grandchildren…"
"Do they?"
I lay on my back on the wet grass bed to see the starry sky of the night. Old man was checking his motorcycle under the faint street light. Electricity is expensive after all. The location was Beijing. The year was 2014.
Looking up at the sky, a weird question came to my mind.
"Hey, grandpa, what was your dream when you were younger?"
He took a moment of silence.
"Huh, why so suddenly… Wait, let me think."
I guess old people need time to recall their past. I imagined what he wanted to be when he was young… An astronaut? A pilot? The possibility isn't zero. It's not weird for a child to become an astronaut. It sounds like a cool enough thing for old man to say as well.
"My dream wasn't anything big… I wanted to travel around the world."
Sir, that's actually one big dream!
"I think… it's an amazing dream," I remarked, staring off at the sky. I could see why Old man kept a bike with him.
"Do you think so? My folks back then… cared for nothing but money. They called me stupid, hahaha…" He sure laughed like an old man as well. "Your turn."
"Hmm?"
"What's your dream? You are still young… Have a dream, chase after it, and maybe you'll have a meaning to live."
"It feels too deep if you put it that way…"
I can't take my eyes off the starry sky…
"... my dream is—"
What was my dream back then? I don't seem to remember it anymore.
— — — —
"Hiroki! Come on! It's too late!"
No, I lost too much already! I can't lose anymore!
I shook off the man who was pulling me back and ran into the building. Old man was there on the floor, lying on his back. He was terribly bleeding. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack…
"Grandpa… Keep yourself together!"
I saw the zombies crash into the house through the broken windows. The only other time I witnessed zombies moving this fast was when I lost my other family…
I gritted my teeth, lifted Old man up, and carried him on my back into the garage.
"Hi… Hiroki…" I heard his fading voice.
"Sorry, grandpa," I hastily started his motorcycle. "I will quickly get you outta here… So you will be fine."
"It… It's too late for me… son…"
"No… Not if I… We don't give up!"
I rode the bike out of the garage and revved up the engine while grabbing his hand and pulling it on my waist.
"Grrr!"
"Zombies are coming!" I yelled at the guys who were waiting for me in the car in front of the building.
We are back on the highway! My bike ran in front of the car that was followed by the horde of zombies. This much noise was prone to attract the undead from around.
"Dammit…"
"Hiroki… I… Sorry…"
As his voice faded away, I squeezed his hand and revved up the engine, holding back my tears that were on the verge of falling out.
At the end of the day, I couldn't protect my loved ones. History had repeated itself.
[FLASHBACK ENDS]
— — — —
When Eunice and I arrived at the scene, everything around us was chaotic. It wasn't just one or two rogues that were invading. About a dozen of rogues were attacking the soldiers while zombies were also keeping them occupied.
"SUIT UP! FURIOUS TIGER!
G-G-G-GER!
I AM A KAMEN RIDER."
— Transformation Announcement.
With that voice, Yamashita, in his rider suit, jumped down the roof of the facility, kicking a few zombies. He started throwing punches as if powered by a machine gun.
"Get him! It's a Kamen Rider!" A rogue called out.
Yamashita's moves were rhythmic and accurate, managing to land an ax kick on the first rogue before they could reach him. He then lowered his body and swept the legs of the rogues, bringing them to the ground.
My speculation was he could manage to fight them as long as there weren't any giant rogues.
"Eunice!" I called out.
"Mm!" she transformed into the bracelet and then fused with the Omnitrix, forming the Alterum Driver on my waist. I quickly inserted the Four Arms key and activated it.
"ALTERUM SYSTEM ACTIVATED."
— Activation Announcement.
"RECOGNIZED. FOUR ARMS."
— Transformation Announcement.
With a battle cry, I charged at the rogues that were attacking the soldiers. Meanwhile, Yamashita-san used his finisher attack on two rogues and zombies.
"FULL POWER CLAW SLASH!"
— Finisher Announcement.
"Seiya!" He cried out and spun himself around, slashing his enemies along. The undead finally rested to death, dropping to the ground, while the rogues turned into mist. One rogue barely managed to dodge the tiger rider's attack.
"Please help others. I will take it from here," I said.
The soldiers nodded and retreated from the spot. The zombies jumped at me, surprisingly fast enough, but thankfully, my extra mechanical arms caught them mid-air.
I threw two punches respectively at the zombies, exploding their heads. Then I clapped my hands together, creating a shockwave blowing the zombies and rogues away.
"Power-up…"
I turned the key over again to strengthen my armor.
"FOUR ARMS ENHANCED."
— Power-up Announcement.
This time, I jumped into the air and performed a thunderclap right above the horde of zombies, pushing into the ground. The rogues jumped away to avoid the impact. Seeing this chance, I grabbed the nearest rogue by the head and slammed it against the wall. My fist made a dent in the concrete. Then I smashed its face once more with the back of my hand, making the skin break.
Meanwhile, Yamashita-san was fighting off a large rogue. This thing had about twice the size of an average rogue. As Yamashita-san punched it several times, the rogue's skin started to crack and burst open, revealing red liquid oozing out. With each punch, blood splattered across Yamashita's chest and arm. But despite the damage, the rogue didn't fall to pieces yet. In fact, the creature was now even stronger than before.
"What's the deal with this guy?!" Yamashita-san grumbled and jumped back, dodging the rogue's blows.
He tried jumping back further and farther, but the rogue followed up on every attempt, following Yamashita until he couldn't move anymore. And when he did, the rogue grabbed him by the neck and brought him close to the ground.
Just as Yamashita-san was going to be crushed between the rogue and the ground, I charged at the rogue and kicked it away, while my mechanical arms grabbed Yamashita-san by his collar so he wouldn't fly away with the rogue.
It worked like a charm. Yamashita-san landed safely and the rogue flew off to hit another wall.
"Thanks!" Yamashita-san shouted. "Now, what do we do?"
"Commander, we have slain all the zombies," a soldier shouted. "We will back you up."
Yamashita-san nodded at the soldiers and prepared his claws extending from his gauntlets. I brought out the Diamondhead key to replace the current key with it.
But something happened... so fast that we didn't quite see it.
Something appeared out of nowhere and ran around us at bullet speed. I reckoned it was a rogue as well as realized something important.
"Crystals..." I muttered. "What?" Yamashita-san asked.
But it was already too late. As I brought out my Fasttrack key, I noticed the core crystals of the defeated rogues had disappeared. "Crap…"
The "thing" stopped right next to the large rogue and handed the crystals to it. The "thing" was a humanoid rogue with dark-green reptilian skin.
"Oh no…" Yamashita-san charged at the rogue to stop it from evolving into a larger rogue. But the reptile rogue headbutted him in his torso, causing him to lose his balance.
I must help him out!
The soldiers started shooting the reptile rogue with their rogues but it easily dodged the shots and ran at the soldiers, taking them down. I gritted my teeth and replaced the Four Arms key with the Fasttrack key, rotating it right away.
"Henshin!" I called out.
"RECOGNIZED. FASTTRACK."
— Transformation Announcement.
"Let's fking go!" I yelled and launched myself at the reptilian rogue, punching it in the head.
"GAAARGH!" It let out a screeching cry. I grabbed onto its tail and yanked, slashing its torso with my forearm blades.
"Ugh! Aaahhh!" It screamed in agony, writhing on the ground. Giving not an f, I cracked my knuckles and punched the rogue until it was defeated and disappeared as mist. I collected its crystal core to ensure no rogue could absorb it.
As for the larger rogue… It had turned into a giant crocodile-like humanoid monster after consuming the core crystals of a dozen other rogues. It was inevitable…
Yamashita-san was stubborn enough to not retreat yet after witnessing the rogue morph into a monster.
"Dammit…" I cursed under my breath. I would need to think of a way to defeat the giant monster. It was already the size of a 5-story building.
"Yamashita-senpai!" A voice called out. I recognized that voice…
It was Dae-Hyun, who was all sweaty and supposedly ran all the way back toward the base from his assigned task.
"Let's do it together... Senpai."
"Dae-Hyun..." Yamashita-san nodded. "Let's... do it!"
Come to think of it, isn't Dae-Hyun a Kamen Rider too?
He put a buckle on his waist and nodded at me as well. Then he inserted a card with a key-like attachment into the buckle and tilted it a bit. The belt unleashed bright purple-like that completely engulfed him, transforming him into a Kamen Rider.
"SUIT UP! VIOLENT STINGRAY!
GRAYYY~
I AM A KAMEN RIDER."
— This time, it was announced in a low-pitched masculine voice.
"Kamen Rider Hector… I will… We will defeat you!" He declared, pointing at the giant rogue.
His rider form was almost similar to Yamashita's, but he had a different color scheme. His helmet was silver and purple. The suit had a cape on his shoulder. He also had a pair of purple boots and gloves.
The only difference was the crest on the chest of the rider suit: It looked like a blue stingray. The best part, however, was that he carried a giant ax on his shoulder.
The crocodile rogue opened its massive mouth while lifting its massive forelimbs to stomp on Dae-Hyun who rolled to the side and avoided the impact.
"I'm fine," he said and got up, swinging at the creature's leg with the ax. He swung with all his might as the blade cut through the air, but the rogue still managed to dodge the attack and continued its stomping rampage.
I replaced the Fasttrack key with the Diamondhead key to assume another rider armor.
"RECOGNIZED. DIAMONDHEAD."
— Transformation Announcement.
Realizing the crocodile was going to attack the vulnerable soldiers, I punched the ground to summon crystal spikes that emerged out of the ground and prevented the crocodile from harming the soldiers. It groaned in pain and retracted its limb, furiously looking at us.
"One heck of a big lizard…"
"Hey, human…"
"Eunice?" She had been silent the entire time, I even forgot about her.
Yamashita-san and Dae-Hyun leaped into the air like ninjas and somehow climbed onto the rogue's back.
"Your weapon is finished. Alongside three new keys…"
What good timing. I suppose she was working on it all this time. With a portal appearing next to me, four keys materialized in my hand, one was purple with a black humanoid figure on it, the second one was a red key with a red hooded humanoid, and the third key was a white key with the figure of a humanoid creature with an anglerfish-like head. The last key was a green object key with a symbol similar to the Omnitrix.
Purple key — Bullfrag GDSEL Key
Red Key — Waterhazard GDSEL Key
White Key — Ripjaws GDSEL Key
Green Key — Proto-Tool Mark II Object Key
— Holographic monitor readings.
"Thanks…" I whispered and looked back at the portal, from which a weird indigo-colored device came out.
"This is… a weapon?" "It is."
I drew the weapon out of the portal before it disappeared. The weapon looked like a gun at first glance, but then I thought it was such a weird gun. It sure reflected the idea of sci-fi weapons. It was painted indigo and white, and the interior of the barrel was painted orange. The opening of the barrel was rectangular. On either side of the joint that connected the frame and the handle existed a disk with an Omnitrix symbol.
"Alright… Let's go!"
I aimed the barrel of the weapon at the crocodile rogue and pulled the trigger to attack it with the blasts. Yamashita-san and Dae-Hyun were attacking its head continuously but due to its tough hide, their efforts didn't seem to affect the giant. My blasts weren't doing anything either.
"Tennyson Hiroki-kun, press the Omnitrix symbol on the Proto-Tool," Eunice suggested.
"Huh… proto-tool… uh," I pressed the disk on one side, causing it to split and slide down, revealing a keyhole. "Oh, I see…"
"Use Ripjaws Key…"
"Got it," I inserted the white GDSEL key into the key slot of the weapon and rotated it.
"INSERT: RIPJAWS."
— Insertion Announcement.
Then I aimed the weapon at the giant rogue again and pulled the trigger—
I felt like I was almost thrown back by the strong recoil of the shot.
A shining bullet of white color escaped the barrel and flew off in the direction of the rogue. Before it reached the target, it manifested a huge illusory hologram of a white anglerfish-like head that later appeared to bite on the hide of the crocodile, causing it to growl in pain.
"Oh… it's effective."
"Good job, Tennyson-san!" Dae-Hyun shouted in joy and lifted his ax. "Let's finish it!"
"Roger… what do I do, Eunice?"
"Pull out the key and scan it with the same Omnitrix symbol…"
I didn't quite understand what she meant, but as soon as I withdrew the key, the split halves recombined to reform the Omnitrix disk. When I placed the key on it, the green parts of the symbol turned yellow.
"Whoa…"
"UPGRADE. CHANGE: 005."
— Power-up and Mode Change Announcement.
"Wha—" With a bright blade materializing out of the blaster, the proto-tool turned into an energy sword! Damn, what can Eunice surprise me more with?
Yamashita-san and Dae-Hyun also activated their respective Finisher moves.
"FULL POWER CLAW SLASH!"
— Finisher Announcement.
"FULL POWER STING STRIKE!"
— Finisher Announcement.
This time, when I pulled the trigger, I was totally blown away by the recoil, while the unleashed blast manifested the illusory holographic head of an anglerfish-like creature that devoured the giant rogue. The claw slashes and the ax strikes of the two Riders also sliced the monster into pieces— combined with another gunshot from me, the giant let out a last growl and turned into mist.
"RECOGNIZED. FASTTRACK."
— Transformation Announcement.
I assumed the Fasttrack form and rushed toward the spot to catch the two freefalling Kamen Riders. Though, I only had to save one, because Dae-Hyun somehow glided to the ground using his cape that transformed into gliding wings of some sort.
"Thanks, you saved us," Yamashita-san said, panting before canceling his transformation.
"You were awesome, too, Tennyson-san…" Dae-Hyun praised me in an enthusiastic tone and reverted to his human form. I chuckled and withdrew the Fasttrack key to detransform.
— — — —
"So it has only been a day after you became a Kamen Rider… but you are already fighting non-stop?"
Dae-Hyun looked distressed when he asked me that. I nodded uneasily.
"Yep…" When I turned my gaze to the culprit Eunice, she quietly whistled.
"I wonder if it's the fate of us riders to fight our enemies non-stop if we wanna protect lives…" Dae-Hyun shook his head. "Anyway, it is too much. We are attacked twice in two days. I think Rogues are targeting Bangkok. That's why they are attacking our base."
His speculation sounds realistic, considering the Rising was protecting the region around here.
"Yamashita-san, how many soldiers are in the Rising?"
"6," he answered, staring intently at a computer monitor. "Me, Dae-Hyun, and the other 4."
"Six, huh… Wait, what?"
I was surprised. I had always thought the entire squadron stationed here was the Rising!
"Aw, there seems to have been a misunderstanding, Tennyson-san…" Dae-Hyun explained. "Senpai is here to manage the military base here and I tagged along with him for my training."
"I… see."
Eunice giggled at my oblivion, making fun of me. I realized she knew about the Rising all along and never opened her mouth about it. And me. I never asked for details about it because I thought I had asked them a lot of questions.
Now, what should we do?
"But your power was really impressive. We can't even rival you." (Yamashita)
"Of course," Eunice proudly said. "It's made by the glorious me."
"Then what about working together with our scientists—"
"No," she rejected it right away.
"Why?!" "Because the Alterum Driver uses an amazing core—"
And so she and Yamashita-san started causing a fuss. Took a while for both to calm down as well.
Suppose the rogues are targeting Neo-Bangkok, which is one of the few surviving human towns in Thailand, I should probably check on the town. I should… at least try to defend what little humanity has left, shouldn't I?
"Tennyson, if you are free, let me treat you—"
"Sorry, Yamashita-san," I interrupted his lunch invitation. "I am going back to Bangkok. I just remembered some unfinished work there."
"O-oh… uh, if you are worried about the town, don't worry. Our teams are watching over the people."
Being a serious person himself, Yamashita-san doesn't seem to be able to pick up the hints. When he goes one way, he sees only one way ahead. I guess it also fits how stubborn he usually is.
I blinked, quickly thinking up an excuse to get out of there.
"Er, no, I have to deliver… some packages."
"Deliver… packages…" he repeated, narrowing his eyes as he didn't understand what I meant right away. Indeed, someone having to deliver packages during an apocalypse sounds weird AF.
"Aw, I see, you are one of those wanderers, right?" Dae-Hyun said, winking at me. "Senpai, he is one of those people who transport letters and packages from one town to another…. To help people connect with their families."
Yamashita-san raised his brows with his mouth wide open. "Wow… that. What a splendid job you do, Tennyson."
I held out my hand. "That's the case, Yamashita-san, Dae-Hyun. I will probably have to travel away again… so… let's survive. As Kamen Riders."
The duo placed their hands over mine.
"From now on, we are the Great Kamen Rider trio!" Dae-Hyun said in his usual enthusiastic manner.
"What's with that lame name?! Forget it, kouhai!" Yamashita-san replied.
— — — —
After waving goodbyes to the duo, we set off for Bangkok on my motorcycle. Eunice and I had technically traveled on my motorcycle together, but this was the first time having her on my passenger's seat as a human, I mean, in her human form.
This is probably the first time I have had a girl in the passenger's seat in a long time. Crap, it's kinda embarrassing if you think about it.
"It's boring, human. Can't you go faster?"
I glanced at the speedometer. It was fast but not dangerously fast, and I was pretty sure I didn't want to go at "dangerous" speeds.
"Um… Calm down, we have to go another hour like this."
"Another hour?!" She was shocked. "Alright, it can't help. I will give you a hand."
"Wha—"
She vanished behind me and became the Alterum belt on my waist.
"Now, use the Tenn-speed key."
I knew it was coming. I rolled my eyes and inserted the Tenn-speed object key into the fourth slot beside the buckle and activated it.
My bike quickly turned green, and I was slightly lifted upward by the rising seat. Then the hood-like roof unfolded overhead, while a motorcycle helmet materialized on my head alongside the safety armor on my knees and elbows.
"Aw… So this is how it works huh…"
Feeling fired up, I revved up the engine, leaving a loud vroom on the highway behind.
But… It was just a scene before witnessing a disaster, which I never realized.
We arrived at our destination in a good half hour… I could then slow down the bike as we entered the city.
The outskirts of Neo-Bangkok were quiet as always. Thanks to the "aftermath clean-up" of the Japanese troops, no undead corpses were left on the fields.
But something feels off. It was too quiet and lifeless.
"Hiroki…" Eunice's voice almost freaks me out. "We should go on foot from here."
"Why— oh," zombies must be around if she told me to quiet down the noises. "Got it."
I stopped the bike and withdrew the Tenn-Speed key, which caused the bike to disappear into a portal— and as I activated the Proto-Tool key, my weapon came out of the same portal before it closed.
We shouldn't let our guard down here…
This smell. It's the smell of blood. The Alterum belt turned back to the Omnitrix on my left wrist, and Eunice reformed herself.
"This isn't good…" I muttered, tightly gripping the handle of the Proto-Tool weapon.
Eunice stuck with me when I went into the town. It was quiet, like seriously. I could hear the caws of the crows from afar. Hoping nothing bad had happened here, I first entered the house I stayed in before and grabbed my stuff. It was a backpack filled with my stuff, to be precise. My Harley Davidson was nowhere to be seen but I wouldn't worry, since Eunice had kept it somewhere.
My eyes met Eunice's. We both nodded at each other and proceeded into the town.
I wouldn't be surprised if the townspeople moved out because of the zombie battle yesterday, but I couldn't think of a way they could be evacuated, considering the expense of oil and the rarity of vehicles today. It might not be the case. But if it wasn't, it might be something scarier—
Seeing a military rifle lying in a puddle of blood, I was taken aback. I handed the proto-tool to Eunice and walked toward there as fast as I could and picked it up, ignoring the blood that would stain my sleeve. That was… as I expected, one of those rifles that the Japanese troops were equipped with.
I looked around, expecting to see anyone. I couldn't decide what the heck happened here by checking a single rifle and a small pool of blood. But… it wasn't just a small pool around… It was like the road was painted red with blood, with things that I thought were intestinal organs scattered here and there. I felt like I was going to puke, but I held it in, shaking off my shock. I took a heavy breath and checked out the scene.
Shit.
Words didn't come out of my mouth when I looked back at Eunice who was expressionlessly staring at the grotesque scene. My boots were stained with blood now.
Seeing the entire road painted with blood here and there, I was shocked. Shaken. But as a person who had lived through two zombie outbreaks, I could regain my composure.
Then, where are the people? What happened to them? Protecting lives is tough, I know, but don't tell me I failed to protect them again.
"Kamen Rider, I presume?"
Hearing a male voice coming from behind, Eunice and I turned around. It was a man with pale skin, wearing a black uniform. He was standing atop a building. And I quickly realized he was either a rogue or a hybrid, so I wouldn't try to antagonize him immediately.
"May I ask who you are?" I asked, trying to sound as polite as I could.
"So this is the one who killed our little wolf boy…" a female voice said from another direction. There was a woman on the rooftop of another building.
I glared at them, concluding they all must be rogues.
"What do you want?"
Also, unlike other rogues who lost their sanity again, these people were clearly more human than the undead. Their eyes were all purple, reflecting the sunlight in a rather beautiful way. But now I looked at them again, their skin color was disgusting.
"I need you to stop getting in our way, Kamen Rider," the rogue woman said. "I must admit you are a little too strong for a Kamen Rider. However, unlike our troops you defeated, we are much more powerful. Remember that."
"What did you do to them?!" I yelled, as I couldn't control my anger anymore.
"What did we do…" the man grinned like a psychopath. "We blessed them with eternal life! That's all."
I could hear the growls of the zombies that now arrived on the roads, slowly heading toward us.
"See? These all are people who once lived in the town. They turned! They are going to live for eternity!"
I clenched my fist, feeling unsettled. I didn't even know what emotion I should prioritize right now. Sorrow? Anger? Confusion? Grief?
I felt a hand on my back. It was Eunice's.
"Are you okay?" She whispered.
No, I wasn't. I felt like I was shattered inside. She knew that. But rather, she was reminding me to keep myself together.
"I am… Fine."
"Hmm… that girl…" The rogue woman stared at Eunice with a clueless face. I couldn't care less.
When the hordes of undead had surrounded us, I recognized a few people despite their scars and ruined facial features.
"Now, Kamen Rider, what's your choice?" the male rogue said. "We can make your death as painless as possible."
Neo-Bangkok was just a small town. Its population barely exceeded a thousand. So…
I put on a confident front and made a bare statement.
"They were humans before they turned. But that's it. Once humans become zombies, they are nothing more than hungry beasts." (Me)
The two rogues looked down at me with unimpressed expressions.
"Giving up humanity and becoming a hungry beast… in exchange for immortality? Are you guys stupid?"
I held out my hand to Eunice who put the proto-tool in my hand. She then fused with the Omnitrix and turned into the buckle on my waist.
"ALTERUM SYSTEM ACTIVATED."
— Activation Announcement.
The two rogues flinched at the surprise, however, the male quickly recovered.
"Maybe your intelligence isn't enough to understand such a simple concept. After turning all the remaining humans into zombies, we will turn them into rogues! That way, we can remake this world for us rogues! We will live for eternity—"
"With nothing but hatred and despair inside? Give me a break," I pulled out the Kickin Hawk key and inserted it into the left key slot. "I became a rider just yesterday. I don't know much about you guys, but I can already see how hypocritical and twisted your ideals are."
"RECOGNIZED."
— Key access announcement.
I glanced at the Kickin Hawk statue that arose next to me and gripped the key to rotate it.
"That's why… I will defeat you and prove you wrong! Henshin!"
If I had to spend all my time fighting for it, be it!
The scattered pieces of the statue flew at me, sticking on my bodysuit to form the rider armor.
"KICKIN HAWK."
— Transformation announcement.
I don't know how, but by the time I had transformed, I managed to change the proto-tool into the sword mode.
"Kill him!" The rogue woman commanded the undead army.
The number of zombies I have to face this time is quite high. I hope I won't wear myself out fast.
"I see. I understand why you chose Kickin Hawk," Eunice said.
"Yep! I knew I was such a genius— Seiya!"
I took a step back and slashed the zombies attempting to swarm over me. I quickly changed the way I gripped the handle and performed a backflip, kicking the zombies in the process. Combined with the martial-art moves of the Kickin Hawk, I sprung upward and threw the kicks like a machine gun.
"At least he does fight better than those trainees…" remarked the male rogue.
"But his attacks are lacking something crucial…" said the female.
"Killer intent… He doesn't have it."
I grit my teeth and delivered an ax kick to slam the zombie with the ground before dodging the ones that jumped at me. I recognized the military uniform on the zombie this time. I felt sorry for him, but anyway, I slashed him with the blade on my forearm, taking him down. And so I finally regained my personal space.
"Ready…"
I requested the power-up for the Kickin Hawk key.
"KICKIN HAWK ENHANCED."
— Power-up Announcement.
"... Let's go!"
I spun around and slashed the zombies, and a large illusory blade appeared, cutting them down in a split second. I took a brief break and inhaled as the zombies charged at me again. I rotated the key over again and slashed them down as soon as they entered my range.
Even though it was effective and the number of enemies was reduced, this all was too tiring.
Not yet! I can't just get worn out from this small work!
I pressed the Omnitrix disk on the proto-tool and inserted the Diamondhead key into the keyhole, rotating it right away.
"INSERT: DIAMONDHEAD."
— Insertion Announcement.
Then I took a short break again, waiting for the zombies to invade my range.
"Rest… in…" I exhaled and swung the sword. "Pieces!"
Crystal spikes emerged out of the ground along the way I slashed, and pierced the zombies, immobilizing them and then obliterating them into pieces. It was a grotesque scenario again. I could only chuckle out of stress.
"His power is quite overwhelming for zombies," the male rogue commented. "Perhaps we shall plan the counter attacks as well."
"Good idea," the woman supported his opinion.
The zombies can't advance to me now… I subconsciously shook the proto-tool, accidentally turning it into a polearm-like staff. Anyway, I thrust the other end into the ground and leaned on it as I felt rather dizzy. Probably due to the exhaustion kicking in and all these unholy bloody scenes.
I don't want that. I never wanted that.
"Listen to me, Hiroki."
Grandpa? It was old man's voice. But no, it was just my imagination.
"... When someone becomes a zombie, it's better to kill them than to leave them behind, even if it's your loved one. It's cruel, but it's less cruel than having your loved one murder and consume other people. I am not saying that not because I have always been alone."
But because pity and love were the reason that the zombie outbreaks killed and turned billions into zombies. Old man was saying that from a neutral viewpoint.
Or so I believed.
Now I am in the same position as Grandpa/ Old man. Alone in this world. No family at all. But hey, I can protect the families of other people, right? Ha…
I removed the Kickin Hawk key and slid the Fasttrack key in.
"RECOGNIZED."
— Key Access Announcement.
This time, the beams of light coming out of the belt manifested the hologram of a furry humanoid creature with spikes on its forearms. He also kinda looks like wearing a mask, too.
"Henshin…"
"FASTTRACK."
— Transformation Announcement.
No sooner had I assumed the Fasttrack armor than…
"Make the speed slightly faster than sound," I commanded in a serious tone.
I can't be a wimp anymore. I must work myself to get used to the burden of wearing this suit— the burden of being a Kamen Rider.
"Roger," replied Eunice. I glanced at the speedometer before noticing everything around me had comparatively slower.
I left the proto-tool staff where it stood and jumped out of my crystal fort and then began to dash around, slicing the zombies with the blades on my forearms. The speedometer showed the unruly stats as I ran around like an aggressive bull, quickly taking hundreds of zombies in a blink. Whereas everything around me felt slow, I felt myself quite fast as well, my senses barely keeping up with the speed.
Damn, it's just the speed of sound! Who cares?!
"FASTTRACK ENHANCED."
— Power-up Announcement.
I thought I had become a blue blur, like ya know, those speedster superheroes in the films I used to watch on TV. All the remaining zombies were completely taken care of in the span of a few blinks.
Then I stopped, standing supported by the proto-tool staff. Panting heavily inside the suit, I gazed at the speedometer going down before my surroundings became normal speed to me. Around me was a cruel battlefield of the undead who were finally allowed to sleep peacefully albeit in a bloody grotesque manner, which didn't really matter. They now got to rest in peace and that's it.
I averted my gaze of the sea of blood and looked up at the two rogues who had their mouths wide open, clearly taken aback by my accomplishments. I wished I could have thrust a blade or two into their mouths. I missed the Jackpot and at this point, I could barely stand straight and tall.
My forearm armor pieces were all soaked and dir with blood.
"Isn't it a fascinating sight?!" The male rogue exclaimed with a disgusting smile. "The sacrifice of our dumb comrades! How beautiful!"
"A person capable of this…" the woman clapped as if giving me applause. "Kamen Rider, you are too late to realize you murdered all of them! As the Professor said, humanity is destroyed as they destroy each other!"
I clenched the staff tighter. "If I am to become a murderer first to protect lives, I don't care then," I declared with an unfaltering glare. "I am ready to accept the sins for it."
Till today, I had always run away from the root of the problem, with a hypocritical desire in mind. Zombies were humans, too… But they are not anymore. They are nothing more than walking rotten corpses that have no life inside.
And above all that, I couldn't forgive the virus— and these rogues for misusing the bodies of the dead and turning them into monsters. I was sure I absolutely could not forgive them.
"What an interesting individual…" (Male rogue)
Maybe the harshness of this world has twisted my morals.
"... But you are in no condition to fight us, now," the woman reminded.
I widened my eyes. Till now, I am enduring the exhaustion and burden on my body— if I were a robot, I might be smoking from my joints.
"We will leave for today," the man said. "But I'm sure we will cross paths again."
"Wait—"
Suddenly, a large vulture-like monster arrived and the two rogues climbed onto its back before it flew off and finally disappeared from my sight.
It happened so fast… Just in a short span of time. I could take that they ran away because their abilities were inferior to mine. Maybe.
For a split second, I was engulfed in bright green light and reverted to human form, with the proto-tool disappearing as well. I dropped to the ground on my knee, looking down at my hands. I was tired, but my inner emotions were causing conflicts inside me, complex enough for me to ignore my exhaustion.
"Eunice…"
When I quietly called out for her, she also sat on her knees and pulled my head into her chest.
"... Can I cry now?"
"Holding back your tears?" She asked, gently rubbing my hair. "I don't want you to."
"Grandpa once said—"
She stopped me with a gentle finger against my lips. Then she looked at me, silently urging me not to speak further. I understood what that meant. She didn't want me to say anything more about how much pain the past few days had brought forth in me. So instead of saying anything else, I simply let it all flow through my eyes.
Grandpa once said, a man has to hold back his tears to not show his weakness to his enemies. A man also has to hold back his tears to not worry his people.
But I guess… since no one is around and I can regard Eunice as my trusted, maybe I should just let it out.
— — — —
The corpses of the townspeople filled the road. I knew we needed to hold a proper funeral for them. Not that I knew Thai traditions and no one was left to tell me how. So I decided to hold a funeral for them on my way.
I visited Yamashita-san to deliver the news. His team also had casualties after all.
"I see. But I can't leave the base," he calmly said. "I will ask Dae-Hyun and a few soldiers to help you."
I couldn't blame him for that.
"Okay," I kept it short and walked out of the tent.
"Tennyson-san…" Dae-Hyun was waiting outside. "Sorry… for your loss."
"Don't worry," I replied. "It's not like I am related to anyone there."
Eunice and I went back on my bike and the troops and Dae-Hyun followed in trucks. We arrived back in Neo-Bangkok in the evening.
Dae-Hyun seemed to be holding back his urge to puke when he arrived there. Soldiers were trained for the harshest environments, but the scene just felt like a massive massacre sight to them. Though, it is true.
"I had no other choice," I muttered, watching the soldiers collecting the corpses.
"I understand, Tennyson-san." Even Dae-Hyun grew quiet. And so the night falls.
End of the Third Episode.
Christopher Paradox Chronos.
