Kamen Rider Alterum
Episode 5: The Uncontrollable One-man Army
How many days has it been since I took a bath?
It doesn't matter anymore. Since we arrived near the Mekong river, I decided to take a bath— but well, the lady first, of course. Roseanne was bathing on the river bank.
For some reason, Eunice had been bugging me to not bathe in the river, so I proposed the idea of a shower. She agreed and set up a spot to shower in a few minutes. She even carried buckets of water with a complaint— not that I ordered her or anything.
She is… Terrifyingly obedient! It kind of freaks me out how obedient and submissive she is! She is an artificial being, yes. She almost never gets tired, at least in my sight. At night, she would just sit on a random chair around my bed and sleep in a sitting posture… Roseanne and Eunice would take turns looking out at night, and Eunice wouldn't give me a shift.
Even Roseanne, who was much of a soulless person in my eye, couldn't help but feel bad so she stayed half the night to make up for my shift. Both are nice girls and I feel like I am being an ass. Or else, maybe I am doomed if Eunice is that… You know, overprotective of me.
Honestly, I don't wanna slack off. I am used to how tough it is to survive in this world. I also had many sleepless nights, before I became Alterum. I wanna let Eunice know I am not that weak of a person. But Eunice is far more potent than me, so I don't know if it was how she defined me as a weak person.
That makes me wonder why she doesn't fight the zombies and rogues herself if she is strong enough.
Uh, shit, it's a bad idea to think about those things during the shower. The water doesn't feel as refreshing as it should now. I am feeling hot…
"Here, Roseanne made this shower cream—"
"Argh!" I quietly screamed seeing the hand coming into the shower room through the gap between the curtains. "Oh, it is just you, Eunice…"
She had a bag of white cream in her hand.
"Anyway, Roseanne made this shower cream from herbs she found nearby and cooked it with magic. I tested it already so use this to wipe your dirt and germs. You would still stink otherwise."
I grabbed the plastic bag from her hand. I wonder if she just like making fun of me. "Thanks…"
Speaking of stink, I might also wanna question her if she smells as well. I mean, she is a living being after all. I have never seen her sweating, too.
"Tonight, I have something to show you," she said. "Let Roseanne sleep and we will watch the campfire."
Oh, that's new to me. And so we let Roseanne sleep early that night, and Eunice and I took the shifts for the night watch. The campfire was still burning bright and strong. We sat by the fire and waited for the elf knight to fall asleep. The moon and stars were up, while everything else was dark. It was quite cold but I didn't really mind it.
"So what did you want to show me?"
"New data key," she said, opening her palms where five data keys of different colors magically materialized. "Unlike other keys, one of these needs practice using properly. Otherwise, it'd be totally useless. Basically, um, this one can be very useful but might also be very useless if you don't know enough."
Recalling how I got screwed with Fasttrack debut, I guess it is not a bad idea to get to know the form prior to the debut. But it is still questionable how difficult it is to use said data key since none of those I have used aren't easy either.
"I see. She's asleep, right?" I said taking the keys from her hand.
One of those keys had a short three-horned black humanoid on it. Another had a werewolf, the third had a white mummy, the fourth had a quadrupedal pufferfish and the last a blue four-armed monkey.
I wouldn't complain about how aliens can look weird at times… We got a werewolf, a mummy, a pufferfish, and a monkey…
"Don't worry. I can see her sleeping from the secret cameras installed inside the car."
"Creepy," I remarked, examining the data keys. "Which one of these will cause problems for me…"
Now that I remember, Eunice once said that her brain worked on an entirely different level than us humans— she can handle multiple tasks simultaneously very easily, including linking her brain to the car and the secret cameras so she can see what is going on inside. Eunice is no joke indeed.
Briefly engulfed in the bright green light, she transformed into the Unitrix bracelet, then sat on my right hand.
"We will use the black one," she commanded.
"Roger," I stuffed the other keys into my pocket and crossed my wrists, which caused the bracelets to form the Alterum belt on my waist.
"ALTERUM SYSTEM ACTIVATED."
— Activation Announcement.
"RECOGNIZED."
— Data Access Announcement
When I inserted the key, the belt projected the hologram of a black/ white humanoid creature the size of a child in front of me. It also had three fins, which I presumed as horns beforehand. Anyway…
"Henshin…" I subconsciously muttered the word and rotated the key.
"DITTO."
— Transformation Announcement.
My armor this time was half-white and the other half was black. The armor was surprisingly light compared to other forms. There was a switch on each of my forearms.
"What can this form do?"
"Self-duplication…"
It sounds overwhelming. But self-duplication is one of the top ten abilities I wanted when I was younger. Overwhelming the enemy with numbers… It'd be so awesome. Such a convenient ability.
Or so I thought.
"What's the drawback?"
"It splits your mind…"
Seriously? I was speechless. Though I don't know how it will split my mind, I can't be more scared by the thought.
"Relax your mind and prepare for the worst…" Eunice suggested.
I internally screamed. Oi, you are making it scarier. It is safe, right? Not dangerous, right?
I took a breath and nodded. "I'm ready."
"Cross your wrists and…"
"And?"
I hesitantly raised my wrists and placed one after another. Suddenly, my armored body glowed in a bright green light, almost temporarily blinding me in the process.
"What's going… on?"
I paused. Did I just hear my own voice? Is my voice echoing in the helmet? No…
I started feeling dizzy as soon as I reopened my eyes. And I was seeing a double vision (?). No, I am seeing two different images at the same time… But I also feel like I am seeing only one monitor.
"Eunice…" I muttered. Yes, it didn't echo.
"Are you okay?"
I blinked and exhaled. "Yep, I am. So… what happened?"
"It was a success." "What was?"
"Self-duplication. Though it was quite that, you will certainly feel like—"
I slowly stood up, only to see a black/white armored figure before me, who was also staring down at me. Taken aback, I jumped back, and the figure responded by doing the exact same thing.
" — you cloned yourself." (Eunice)
I gulped and carefully looked at the figure. The figure was seemingly looking at me in the same way, however, the scenery behind him was… weird. It was like two images blended together by a terrible photo editor.
"Is that… my clone?"
"Technically yes. But not really…" Eunice answered. "Why?" I said, confused.
"He is just an empty suit, it means there is nothing inside. But the suit's actions are controlled by your brain. So he will do anything you want him to."
"That's creepy," I remarked and stepped forward, ignoring the dizziness and weird images I was seeing. The clone did what I did, and his head and mine became close as I examined his form.
Honestly, this was the first time I got to behold what I looked like. Well, it was like armor out of some sci-fi film, but also beautifully decorated. It was white and black as I expected. I could see the green circuit-like patterns on the suit underneath the armor parts. Interesting.
Slowly and carefully, I reached out to him. As my right hand extended to him, he also did the same and we grabbed each other's hand with the same strength. Then we shook his hands…
Shared senses. I see, it's the right word for this astonishing sh*t. I couldn't get enough of how I could feel my right hand with my right hand!
"Ahem, so are you getting the hang of it?"
"Yep… I guess."
"But you need to control two bodies at the same time, instead of mirroring your actions."
"Hmm, what do you mean?" I blinked, releasing the clone's hand.
"It's the point. You have to control multiple bodies at the same time and it needs practice."
I see, it must be what she meant by splitting my mind. It's easy to say, but I can't imagine how it will work out. How do I control the clone in the first place?
"... you are actually seeing through two different perspectives at the same time. It's the same for your other senses. I reckoned you might feel dizzy at first but you must endure it."
"I… know. Let's do it. Training. Tell me how to control my other body."
Eunice chuckled. "That's the way. As I mentioned, you are feeling it from two perspectives. You have to separate them apart and feel them as a different point of view— like it is the other you but still yourself."
"I don't understand…"
"Hmm…"
We stood silently for a moment as Eunice seemingly took time to think, while my clone and I were blankly staring at each other. I thought… how did my voice even come out of my clone anyway?
"Alright." "Yeah?"
Eunice seemed to have thought up a plan.
"Think of yourself as Unit Zero. Your clone is Unit One. Try to move yourself while thinking of other actions you want Unit One to do."
Hmm, it sounds difficult but simple… It's even more interesting for me.
"Alright…"
Unit One, punch me. I visualized how he would punch me in the guts— Ouch!
Was it a success?
I was standing still, and my clone had his fist thrust at my stomach. He did exactly what I visualized in my mind. But I still need to sort out the double vision problem.
I turned my gaze to the sky while mentally commanding my clone to look down— where I saw the moon and the ground at the same time. So I am looking at the moon— but I am also seeing the ground. I have to keep track of what I am doing and where I am to know what I should look at.
"Let's try sparring, Clone-san…"
The clone nodded at me, although it was just me controlling him. Guess I am gradually becoming used to it…
Clone, you hit me with your right hand, and… As he slowly threw his right fist at me, I caught it with my other hand and tried to chop his shoulder, which he blocked with his other hand.
"Interesting, you are a formidable opponent."
"Yeah, it's your clone, though," Eunice muttered.
"Whatever, I am loving this!" I cried out, thrusting my fist at the clone who dramatically dodged it and leaped into the air to deliver an ax kick to me. I quickly caught it and spun him around before sending him flying. However, I managed to land the clone in an elegant fashion and made him charge at me. However, the clone's tackle missed me unfortunately because I wasn't used to seeing from two different perspectives at the same time.
The same for why my dramatic plunge missed the target afterward.
"Ha, this is fun but I have a long way to go."
"Yeah… Let's wrap things up and go to bed for now— wait!" Eunice quietly exclaimed. "We accidentally woke her up!"
"Who? Oh… Roseanne…"
In the distance, I could see the door of the car open, and she climbed out, in her knight armor no less. How did she even suit up in such a short time? But at this point, it's too late for me to run away. Thanks to the moonlight, she could see me and my clone clearly after all.
She raised her large sword at us with her usual disinterested expression. She was either unintimidated or fearless, I suppose.
"Who are you?" She said with the calmest voice possible. In this situation, she sounded like a saint interrogating a thief.
"Oi, what do we do?" I whispered to Eunice.
"Figure it out yourself," she talked back. "Don't worry about her hearing us. I can enable soundproofing."
"I see."
Okay, what should I do?
A lot of good ideas popped up— here is my clone. Make him run away, away from here. Roseanne will follow him and it's a win for us.
Clone-san, run! Be the bait and lure her away!
As per my order, my clone started running away from his spot. Trying to focus on giving the clone directions, I looked back at the elf knight, who didn't move an inch but fixed her gaze on me. I felt shivers…
Alright, this isn't gonna end with some trick. I don't wanna beat her up, too, so the solution to the problem will probably come down to a civil verbal explanation. I guess I can get around the corners without revealing the Kamen Rider stuff— huh… this is…
I saw something in my sight— I mean, it's not exactly through my eyes. But I saw something… Standing still, I focused on my other vision, to see a few crawling humanoids watching my clone as he ran past them.
This is…
"We are surrounded by them…"
"Hmm, them, huh, I don't recommend facing them in this condition," Eunice pointed out. "We must get outta here as fast as we can."
I turned my gaze at Roseanne, "I hope I won't need to knock her out for it."
Eunice isn't helping me much in this situation: probably because she wants me to figure things out by myself. Come on, I am not dumb, but I kind of know why she does what she is doing. I will probably never ask her for the reason either.
Roseanne seemed to be on guard as well since she was also probably sensing the hungry enemies around us.
According to my command, the clone turned back midway and ran back to us as the zombies chased after him like hungry predators. It wasn't like I could make my clone jump from tree to tree like a ninja and even fight back his enemies properly so running, as an easy command as it is, is the best option for me.
"Solar Eaters are here…" I said as the crawling monsters came out of the forest after my clone.
"Solar Sleepers?!" The elf knight said, gripping the handle of her sword tighter.
"Solar Sleepers? Oh, wait…"
I realized in a brief moment that she must have meant Solar eaters, too.
Solar Eaters, aka Solar Sleepers, are easily one of the most dangerous zombies. They are pretty agile, compared to your average zombies, and can climb up the trees easily as well. They don't fear any terrain as they can mostly conquer the area in a short time.
However, one trick is, they sleep during the day, atop the branches of the trees, and only move at night. Word has it Solar Eaters absorb the sunlight during the day for energy— the theory after which their name was named.
Those bastards have somewhat green skin, too, which just adds to the theory of them having chlorophyll of some sort.
"Crap…" I uttered, seeing a large number of the Solar Eaters coming out of the forests— they stopped in their tracks, almost to observe their prey. My clone also stopped near us and turned around to face the enemies he unintentionally attracted.
"Eunice… get it ready."
She giggled for some reason. "… roger!"
"Vroom!"
The headlights and taillights of our car glowed brightly, lighting up the darkness around us, with the noise of the engine turned up. Well, with that noise, the Solar Eaters also ran at us in an animalistic manner. A good part of their horde was running on four…
Considering how they are good climbers, aren't they monkeys or something?
Clone, I will leave it to you.
I decided to run toward the car.
"Hey, what are you—" Roseanne was cut off short by the Solar Sleeper that jumped at her with a disgusting groan. Without a second thought, she slapped the monster away with the flat side of her sword, before slashing it to death. But she didn't get much break time as a pair of zombies charged at her immediately.
On the other hand, the clone also got a few zombies occupied by fighting hand-to-hand. I could feel how every punch satisfyingly landed on the zombies, but that's it. The zombies swarmed over him and tried to bite his armor. Unfortunately, some even got their poor teeth broken and shattered… at the hands of my clone.
I jumped into the car and hastily withdrew the Ditto Data key and closed the car door just before the zombies reached me.
"CANCELLED."
— Cancellation Announcement.
As I detransformed, Eunice also reformed herself right in the Driver's seat, and immediately changed gears.
Oh, my other senses disappeared… I guess the duplication was undone since I reverted…
Anyway, I could still see Roseanne trying so hard to single-handedly handle the Solar eaters. She was… cool. Her swordplay and all were cool.
Eunice crashed the zombies, sending them flying, and opened the door next to me who was in the backseat. I quickly pulled the elf knight by her armor into the car. She was super heavy! Probably due to the armor though. But as she knew what we were doing, she kicked the zombies and got into the car before the door automatically closed.
I could finally let out a sigh of relief. Yep, it's best to not face the Solar Eaters yet. Not because we wouldn't win. It's just a pain in the rear to fight them.
"You two can take a nap if you want," Eunice said, looking at us in the rearview mirror. "I will find another good camping site."
"Is that okay?" Roseanne said.
My heart was racing wildly, and I was too excited to sleep, honestly.
"Mm."
But I didn't remember when I fell asleep that night.
— — — —
When I opened my eyes again, I was greeted by the warm bright sunlight coming through the opened window. The car was parked on a riverside but maybe it wasn't Mekong. The girls weren't found in the car so I assumed they were out for a bath or washing their faces.
I exited the car and walked toward the river, to find Roseanne who just finished her bath, with a tower wrapped around her body. I averted my eyes from her and looked in a different direction, only to see Eunice seemingly spacing out, with her feet dipped underwater.
Seeing the wrinkles on her suspiciously clean white robe, I realized she always had been suspiciously clean without taking a bath (well, she did) or washing her clothes. She doesn't seem to have any spare clothes to change to.
If you think about it, it isn't anything weird or even a loophole. I mean, she often transforms into a bracelet, so I am sure external dirt will be automatically removed from her clothes and body. It does make sense, right?
I can't deny Eunice is such a weird being.
"Hiroki."
I flinched and looked back to see Roseanne, who had changed into her Knight armor in such a short time. Now that I remember, didn't she change quickly last night, too?
"Good Morning, Roseanne."
"Good Morning. How many days does it take to reach Beijing from here?" She asked all of a sudden.
"Er…"
"3 days," Eunice suddenly answered. "And ohayo, Roseanne, and Tennyson Hiroki-kun."
"Ohayo, Yuunisu." (Me)
3 days huh? It is an impressively short time to travel from Bangkok to Beijing in this condition. Eunice also seemed to know what she was saying…
"No zombies around here, how nice," I muttered and sat down on the bank to wash my face. It was clean and refreshing… Compared to the everyday hell we were living in, this river was like flowing down from heaven.
"I will go prepare breakfast," Eunice said and walked away.
"I will help you," Roseanne followed her.
To be honest, Eunice was a good cook. It wasn't a surprise, considering her other skills. Her expertise is often out of the world, too.
After breakfast, we proceeded with our journey as usual, and stopped for lunch, before moving on again. We'd rest for the night somewhere. The main reason we don't travel at night is the Solar Eaters… It's just too much of a pain to deal with them in the first place.
"We are approaching a town…"
"Oh…"
At this point, we should be in China already… but it's hard to tell. Never mind.
"We can probably replenish our supplies there," I suggested, to which Roseanne agreed with a nod. "That's a good idea," Eunice said as she slowed down the vehicle.
This town, unlike Neo-Bangkok, was surrounded by wooden walls. It's hard to use stone or concrete for the job these days after all. There were a few barricades near the gate into the town, where a few soldiers equipped with rifles were guarding. I recognized their uniforms…
"Oh, they are…"
"... Japanese troops…" Eunice said, smiling. "Lucky!"
As the car stopped right in front of the barricades, I climbed out to talk with the soldiers, holding Yamashita-san's medal in my hand.
"Hello, soldiers, we are travelers and we came from Bangkok. On our way to Beijing," I said, showing the medal to them. "I am a friend of Yamashita Reiji, the leader of the Rising."
Not that I wanted privilege but at least I hope they wouldn't suspect us for owning a car. Well… if there are consequences, I can get Yamashita-san to help me explain things.
One of the soldiers grabbed the medal and examined it for a moment before giving it back. "Do you have any message to deliver?"
I remembered the case with Neo-Bangkok.
"Yep, for that, can I meet with your superior? It is quite important…"
The other soldier stretched the back of his head and shrugged at the first soldier who responded to him by nodding.
"Open the barricades and— you two, bring them to Commander."
"Thanks," I muttered and stepped aside with the soldiers as the barricades were moved to the sides and Eunice drove the car into the town.
After parking in the town, I whispered to Roseanne. "We have come a long way so you gotta be starving, right?"
"Excuse me?" (Roseanne)
I winked at Eunice and faced Roseanne again. "You should go with the soldiers and have dinner before us. We have… stuff to discuss with the leader here…"
"The leader of humans?" She asked with a clueless expression.
"No, the leaders of these troops who are protecting the town. They are good guys and unrelated to the leader of humans," I quickly explained before she drew false conclusions.
"Hm…"
"Leave your sword in the car though," I pointed at the vehicle. "They're gonna freak out otherwise."
Then I looked back at the soldiers. "Please take this elf lady for dinner."
"As you wish, sir."
I walked away, chuckling at how they called me sir. Anyway, Eunice and I are visiting the leader of this squad.
But one thing that kept me in discomfort was… the troops protecting the town were neither Chinese nor the army under the Asian faction, but Japanese soldiers.
"Are we gonna tell them about Bangkok?"
"Of course, also the thing with rogues planning to attack the human towns," I narrowed my eyes and grabbed the door knob. "It's a serious matter."
And so we entered the office. Waiting for us inside was a young man in a white shirt and jeans, and a woman of the same age as him. She was wearing a military uniform with a darker vest over it. The young man was sitting in a large chair, like a final villain boss welcoming the heroes in the final mission room. In contrast to him, the woman was standing with her arms crossed, observing us from head to toe with a serious expression, almost scary.
"Are you the leader of this squad?" Eunice said, walking toward the young man who didn't answer her but grinned. "I am Eunice. And the young man here is Tennyson Hiroki."
He raised a hand, causing Eunice to stop. "I heard about you two from the troops. But sadly, I wish I was the squad leader."
Er…
Eunice and I turned our gazes toward the woman who was glaring down at the young man. Then she finally looked back at us.
"Akaba Yuuka, commander of the Diamonds squad. I heard you know the leader of the Rising, correct?"
"Yeah?"
"I see," she nodded and angrily grabbed the young man by his collar. "Get outta here. We have important matters to discuss, swindler!"
Swindler? Also, her mood change is scary!
"Don't call your teammate a Swindler!"
"Just get your ass outta here!"
"I am a member of the team of the Diamonds too. I have every right to know—"
Akaba-san slammed the door close, with that guy now outside the office, and walked back to us.
"Sorry if he was annoying," she apologized.
"No, not in the least," Eunice said, to which I agreed by nodding.
Now Yuuka Akaba sat in the same chair and crossed her legs getting in another pose. We decided to sit on the sofa near her.
"The communication is so bad these days, I haven't gotten a message from Reiji-senpai in three months. It's a surprise for me to see you guys."
"…"
"New Japan plans to launch a satellite, and hopefully, it will stabilize our connection with the base. If we can't get into and keep up with what's going on, it's going to be worse in more than one way."
"…"
The zombie outbreaks had heavily damaged most of the systems of human convenient appliances— including telecommunications and such. Even radios rarely work… since the human population has drastically decreased and maybe it's even fortunate to find any survivors in a town of ruins.
But I must praise Japan for that— if they even launch a satellite. But my theory is…. They can't obtain enough suitable metal materials to build a satellite… you can't build a satellite like you build a car after all.
"You must be tired after a long trip. Sorry," she said.
"I am a Wanderer… This much tiredness is nothing for me…"
"Hmm," she didn't appear surprised. "Anyway, let's get down to the business."
She returned to her serious mode. I gulped— and our eyes met.
"What happened in Neo-Bangkok?"
"The base was ambushed by rogues twice during the time we were there," Eunice said calmly. "And Neo-Bangkok is no more. Probably all the people turned and we had to prepare a funeral for them."
Akaba raised her brows and then calmed down, biting her lower lip. I could empathize with her… I guess.
"Rogues are finally making their move…" Akaba drew the same conclusion as Yamashita-san did. "Neo-Bangkok never had a wall around it… because there were no zombies in that region. That's a major agricultural source for the lower Thai regions, too. But what can we do…"
"Um…" I raised my hand. She nodded, like a teacher giving her pupil permission to speak up.
"We met two rogues, who, I suppose, were controlling the undead masses. And another guy in Hope Town. He was pretty strong and used swords… He is… a hyper rogue probably."
I realized that if I wanted to inform her about those dangerous encounters, I might have to reveal my identity as a Kamen Rider, too. Unless I want that outcome, I should choose my words wisely.
"You two fought with them? Even Kamen Riders have trouble—" Akaba seemed to have caught on.
I recalled how Yamashita-san had trouble fighting the mutated rogues… But Dae-Hyun seemed to hold a candle against them. It's probably because Dae-Hyun owned a newer model of Kamen Rider while Yamashita-san's suit needed to be upgraded.
"No, actually we met a guy named Alterum who fought those rogues," Eunice saved me in time. "He is a Kamen Rider, I think."
"Alterum…" Akaba narrowed her eyes, thinking. "I hope he's not a threat. Hmm, it might be a little late to ask but… what are you doing here? Where are you traveling? With a car no less…"
"Er, well, we are traveling to Beijing…" I said, thinking about sugarcoating most facts. "I've got personal reasons. I hope you don't need to know them."
She nodded politely. "Sorry if I sounded intruding…"
"That's okay."
Then Eunice and I excused ourselves and left her office to meet up with Roseanne in the canteen for soldiers.
Roseanne had already finished her dinner by that time. A place to sleep wouldn't be difficult to find in this barricaded city, and apparently, we wouldn't need to take turns watching out.
"The food here is more delicious than anything I've consumed in the lands of humans," she blatantly stated. "Sadly, the taste is nowhere near as good as elven food."
Eunice giggled at the elf's honest statement. I wrapped the warm noodles in the bowl with the chopsticks and brought them to my mouth. I took time swallowing that one load before responding to the elf.
"You would get slapped if you said that to humans," my mouth was busy taking in the warm delicious broth so I didn't get to laugh.
"She is right," a new male voice interrupted. "Human food is no competition to elven food."
Oh, that guy from Akaba-san's squad. If my memory serves, he was called a swindler. Crap gotta keep my guard up or would he swindle us!
"Ahem, what do you mean?" I said, almost biased toward human meals. Strictly speaking, I barely had the right to insult elven meals since I never tasted one.
"I have tasted elven food… so I agree with her," he said with a mischievous grin and sat down on the chair next to me. I didn't talk back as I was looking for words…
"Elves use herbs and high-quality meats… I must say, uh, the meat they used is from their world. But it's definitely better than pork and chicken…"
"You must have eaten something expensive like dragon meat," Roseanne said in a monotone. "Dragon meat is rare but delicious. As of now, it's illegal to consume dragon meat because dragons are protected by the laws."
It's funny how there are laws protecting animals in the other world… but it's hard to say with "dragons." I don't know how mythical people regard dragons after all. Maybe those poor animals are decorations or mere accessories of high-class households and royalties. Or even as low as mere transportation resources for the army.
Seeing the bowl was clean and empty, I felt disappointed and glanced at the Swindler-san who silently gulped, his face covered with cold sweat.
"I… ate… dragon meat."
It was awkward. I decided to excuse myself and got away to bring the bowls and other utensils to the kitchen of the canteen. I realized Roseanne walked after me and she called me as we arrived near a basin.
"What?"
"Should I arrest him?" She said without a hint of humanity in her voice. Not that she is a human…
"Uh, wait, he is a swindler, you know," I tried to cool her down. "He is probably lying."
"Maybe they are lying about the swindler part to get away with eating Dragon meat."
That's… possible! I took a glance at the guy.
"Calm down. Act natural…"
We went back to the table. Eunice didn't seem to like that guy, not in the slightest bit.
He suddenly burst out laughing. "Why so intense, hahaha! I am joking of course. Ore-sama is too broke to eat dragon meat…"
The urge to punch him suddenly grew in my chest so the elf knight, now in turn, held me back. I sighed and sat down at the table.
"Who even are you…"
"Ore, Sutemi Tamaru! You can say I am the right hand of Yuuka-chan— ouch!"
Said Yuuka-san suddenly appeared behind him and smacked his head. "Don't disturb the guests, Swindler-kun."
"A little joke won't hurt, Yuuka-chan~"
Yuuka Akaba couldn't care less. She ignored him and informed us…
"Two rooms for you three, one for girls and another for Hiroki, are prepared. You can take a long rest tonight."
"Thanks for your kindness, stranger," Roseanne said with a bow.
"You are an elf," Yuuka finally noticed. "Oh, I haven't properly introduced myself to you. I am Yuuka Akaba, you can say I am the leader of troops here."
"My name is Roseanne Amamion. I am the personal bodyguard of Princ—"
I quickly covered her mouth to stop her from speaking another word.
"Sorry, Yuuka-san, please don't try to find out about this secret," I said in a dark tone. "It is dangerous for everyone involved in it. So you better not know it."
The conversation went silent, with everyone else in the canteen watching us… Yuuka Akaba was also staring at me with her eyes widened.
"Uh, I just remembered something I have to do—"
Tamaru-san tried to get out of the awkward situation but Yuuka suddenly grasped his collar again.
"You heard that, right, Swindler?" She said with a serious tone. "We shouldn't get involved with their secret. So… let's forget it."
"Hai…" Swindler-san replied weakly.
And that's how it was resolved.
"Eh, I have a request," Eunice suddenly spoke up.
"Yeah?" Yuuka turned around to face her.
"I… want to sleep with Tennyson Hiroki in the same room," she whispered to the commander. "You know, we have reasons."
Taken by surprise, Yuuka almost lost her seriousness upon hearing what Eunice had to say.
"I-I see… That's… Ok. Oh, and the building is right next to the canteen. Room number 098 and 099, 098 are a little larger. So suit yourself," Yuuka said and dragged Tamaru out of the canteen, mumbling. "Come on, Tamaru-kun. We shouldn't probably disturb them."
Eunice and I looked at each other and shrugged. Then there was a poor clueless blonde elf next to us.
— — — —
Eunice and I were in the double room. I knew what we were going to do. The whole town had gone quiet and… Roseanne was also probably asleep in the next room over. It wasn't even midnight though.
"Tennyson Hiroki… it's time," she whispered.
Understanding the gesture, I returned a nod before she assumed the form of a bracelet on my right hand. A portal appeared next to me, out of which the proto-tool Mark II came out.
"What do I do?" I whispered.
"Press the disk…"
When I did as she said, the tool transformed into a device— which resembled a grappler, honestly. I climbed out of the window to the outside behind the building. We were on the third floor of a building designated to grant rooms for guests and a few soldiers.
I shot the grappler at the rooftop floor, where it firmly grasped the edge. Then I got out of the room and slowly released the rope, which allowed me to carefully land on the ground.
"Mission success…" I mentally noted and quickly entered the stealth stance to sneak out of the barricaded town somehow so I could practice using my Ditto form. The rogues are getting stronger… so if I could use such a powerful form, chances will stack up for me.
"Hey, I will silence the announcements so… assume Fasttrack," Eunice suggested. "They won't notice you if you run really fast."
"That's a good idea…" I replied, looking around if there were anyone around. Life in the apocalyptic era is so tough, so as soon as you obtain a safe opportunity to sleep, you would want to sleep off all your tiredness.
Eunice and Omnitrix formed the Alterum belt without an activation announcement. I quickly inserted the Fasttrack key into the belt and rotated it, quietly calling out—
"Henshin!"
And so I changed into Fasttrack armor and became a black blur who shot off past the soldiers guarding the gate of the town.
"That was easy," I said, turning around to check if everything went okay as soon as I arrived in the forest.
Alright… now is the time.
I replaced the Fasttrack key with the Ditto key and activated it, assuming the Ditto armor. Then I crossed my wrists to summon my clone.
"I'm counting on ya, pal…"
All of a sudden, I was tackled by something, causing me to lose balance and almost fall over. I subconsciously commanded my clone to grab me before I fell, and then "something" that tackled me turned out to be… a solar eater. And before I noticed it, I was already surrounded by the solar eaters who were looking down at me from the tree branches meters above me.
"Well, crap…" I uttered.
"Grr!" The zombies growled and jumped at me and my clone like wild carnivores. When I threw punches and kicks at them, the clone did the same, which improved our damage outputs.
"CHANGE: 005."
— Weapon Mode-change Announcement.
I transformed the Proto-tool Mark II into a sword and slashed the zombies across their torsos, cutting them down. My clone got no weapon to slash with, so he instead chopped the necks of the zombies, separating apart their heads and torsos, which was apparently an instant win.
But the solar eaters weren't as dumb as normal zombies: they soon kept up with our attack patterns and tried to change their attacks. Well, their attempt can only go so far…
"Get down!" I told my clone and inserted a Ripjaws quickly into the weapon.
"INSERT: RIPJAWS."
— Insertion Announcement.
As soon as the clone crouched next to me, I swung the sword, while spinning myself, which unleashed a powerful slash attack with an energy resembling the head of Ripjaws that devoured all the zombies. I could finally let out a sigh of relief, seeing all the zombies dropped dead. Some nearby trees had been cut down, too. Forget it.
What are the Solar Eaters even doing here? They shouldn't be in China… Don't tell me, the rogues brought them…
"Tennyson Hiroki, the town!"
Suddenly, I heard noisy sirens coming from the town. I removed the key from the belt, restored my human form, and jumped out of the forest to see what was going on.
I realized encountering the solar eaters here wasn't just a mere coincidence. The zombies were attacking the town—
Normally, they can't really enter the town since normal zombies can't climb the walls or trees, let alone jump over them. But these are… clearly Solar Eaters!
"Dammit, we must help them. Henshin!"
"RECOGNIZED. FASTTRACK."
— Transformation Announcement.
I set off immediately after transforming and got my forearms ready, then I charged at the solar eaters crawling on the walls surrounding the town. I started cutting down the zombies with the blades on my armored arms. I could see the soldiers were busy defending the gates.
The massive number of Solar Eaters attacking human towns like this isn't possible…
I know something's off, and it must be related to rogues. I can't say how they gather this much number of zombies.
"Our priority is lives! Don't let any zombie come inside the walls!"
It was Akaba-san's voice.
"Roger, Yuuka-chan," and this is him, Tamaru-san. He then jumped over the wall, carrying a device in his hand.
I dashed toward him and grabbed the zombie that almost attacked him from behind, and smashed its head against the wall before slashing its throat with my blades.
"Oh, what are… you…" he was astonished to see me but surprisingly quick to calm down.
"Name is Alterum," I said in a monotonous voice. "I will help you kill these zombies."
"You are fast. But I am strong, too," he winked at me for some reason and put on the device on his waist. The device turned out to be a Zedgear Driver, with a black card-like key already inserted in it.
"Henshin," he called out as he was engulfed in bright light.
"SUIT UP! BLEACH ICHIGO!
ICHI-ICHI-GO-GO!
I AM A KAMEN RIDER."
— Transformation Announcement.
When the light died down, his rider form was black on a black body. He also had a cape similarly to Dae-Hyun's cape, and a large sword appeared in his hand.
"Kamen Rider Otaku, at your service!" He swung his heavy sword at the Solar Eaters attempting to swarm over him. "There is no enemy in this world who can rival me in watching anime!"
That's one lame and long catchphrase!
That said, his swordplay was impressive for sure. Certainly better than me.
"My skills are impressive, right— wait, where are you going?!"
I didn't respond, but proceeded with taking the zombies down.
END OF EPISODE (5)
Christopher Chronos.
