Chapter Five: The Tyrant's Appearance
By the time training had ended, the sun had already set, and the sky was pitch black.
Were it not for the street lamps and the full moon to illuminate the night; it would be hard for Subaru and the others to find their way back to the dorms.
"All of you did well today. I want to see at least this much effort in the following sessions."
Standing before the four forwards, Nanoha spoke with a smile, while Homura was leaning against a tree trunk and merely observing the ending of today's training session.
"If none of you has any questions, you are all dismissed."
"Yes!"
With a salute, the four forwards began dragging their worn-out bodies toward the dorms.
"You had fun today, didn't you?"
Turning to Homura, Nanoha asked with a cheeky smile.
"..."
However, the lack of a reply from Homura made Nanoha tilt her head in confusion.
"Homura?"
Staying silent, Homura responded only after the four forwards had vanished from sight.
"Ngh. Gah!"
Collapsing onto the ground on all fours, Homura puked out a copious amount of stomach acid.
Upon closer inspection, Homura's entire body was soaked in sweat, and his shirt was stuck onto his back.
"Homura!"
Shocked by Homura's sudden collapse, Nanoha screamed and quickly went to his side.
"Hah...Hah...Hah...I can feel it. Another person holding the genes of Evolto has been born. I can feel him calling for me. My...brother."
Almost immediately after finishing his sentence, Homura fainted.
...
Opening his eyes, Homura found himself surrounded by stars and a black sky, as if he were in outer space.
"Seems like my genes have been activated."
A familiar yet foreign voice spoke from within Homura's mind, causing him to look around in search of the source.
He had heard this voice before, in his dreams, but never in person.
An armoured figure appeared before Homura.
Armour that was red and blue with gold linings. An Armillary sphere affixed at his chest armour. And the Evol-Driver that was worn around his waist.
Homura knew of this man, no this alien's identity.
After all, he had inherited portions of his memories and his genes.
"Evolto..."
Homura muttered the name of his 'father' in shock.
"Correct. But sadly, there is no prize."
...
"How is he!?"
Rushing into the medical room with Rein floating by her side, Hayate immediately asked Shamal.
Including Hayate and Rein who had just arrived, the entire top brass of Riot Force Six had gathered.
"...He's fine, but at the same time, he isn't."
Shamal answered as she kept her eyes on the rapidly fluctuating readings on the machines that were hooked onto Homura.
With his clothes removed, Homura laid on the hospital bed with dozens of tubes connected to his body and electrodes attached to his head and chest.
Steam hovered over Homura's body as his sweat evaporated almost instantly after being produced.
His chest rose and fell rapidly, as an expression of suffering stayed on his face.
"Currently, Homura's heartbeat, brain activity, and body temperature are all having intense and rapid fluctuations."
"His heartbeat is beating absurdly fast. The speed of his heartbeats is even faster than those of hypertension patients, capping at 200 per minute."
"His brainwaves are going incredibly active. It's as if he's currently engaged in a gruelling battle, rather than laying unconscious on a bed."
"The worst is his temperature. His body temperature has been rising nonstop for the last half hour. Currently, his body temperature has already surpassed 100 degrees celsius!"
Shamal's voice was filled with dread as she explained Homura's current state to Hayate.
"I have no idea if it is because of his alien physiology or not, but if he were a regular human being, he would have already died a dozen times over!"
Hearing about Homura's critical condition, Hayate couldn't help but feel anxiety overwhelm her entire being.
"I-Is there anything we can do!?"
Rein asked while flying around frantically, clearly worried about Homura.
"There is. Hayate-chan, Rein-chan, I need the two of you to encase Homura in the coldest ice you can make."
"Wha-! That would kill him!"
Hayate unconsciously shouted at Shamal's proposal.
"It wouldn't! The rate of his increasing temperature is rapidly rising, so there is a high chance his entire body would combust if you don't freeze him and cool him down forcibly!"
"...Alright. Rein!"
Realizing that if she didn't do as Shamal said, there was a chance that Homura would die, Hayate called out to Rein.
"I got it, Hayate-chan!"
With a nod, Rein flew toward Hayate and entered her chest.
"Unison, in!"
...
"Yo! It's the first time we've seen each other, hasn't it?"
Evolto's voice was frivolous as he greeted his clone.
"Evolto. But that can't be."
Homura's eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing.
The one who was standing before him was the one whose genes were used as a material to create Homura's body.
Of the information that Homura had gathered from the bits and pieces of Evolto's memories, there wasn't a single one that said Evolto could interact with the ones who held his genes.
"Of course, I can interact with those who hold my genes. After all, my consciousness dwells inside them."
As if reading Homura's mind, Evolto answered.
"...So? Why have you come out now? When you've never said even a single word to me in the past."
Homura asked as he remained on his toes.
More so than anyone, Homura was aware of Evolto's desire for destruction, and that he wouldn't hesitate to take control of Homura's body.
"My genes that were inside of your body, they were sleeping this whole time. The birth of your little brother, the one that Jail Scaglietti created, woke me up."
Evolto explained.
"Could you imagine my shock? From dozens of lightyears away, I suddenly feel my consciousness connect to two young boys. Both of whom were created artificially using my genes and the genes of another person. What surprised me even more, was the amount of power that both of you held?"
Evolto's voice grew heated as he continued.
"The amount of power surpassed even mine, being comparable to Banjou's own! No! Perhaps even more so!"
The space around Homura and Evolto began to warp as if a black hole was forming around them.
"What are you going to do then!? Are you going to take over my body!?"
Homura asked while trying to stabilize himself within the shaking space.
At Homura's question, the shaking stopped as Evolto spoke.
"No. I don't plan on doing that."
As if saying something obvious, Evolto waved his hand in denial.
"Huh?"
"I mean, come on. If I have to take over a kid's body to defeat Banjou, that would just be shameful, wouldn't it?"
Evolto continued.
"Besides, I'm curious to see what would happen if two of my clones were to fight using the Evol-Driver."
As he listened to Evolto, Homura began to feel his body temperature lowering and ice start to form on his body.
At the same time, Evolto's voice started to distort, and his figure was fading.
"Hm? It seems like our time is up."
Looking down at his disappearing body, Evolto returned his gaze to Homura and said.
"Don't die too soon. I want to see where your path will lead you. Evolution, or death."
Leaving behind those final words, Evolto faded away, and Homura felt himself fading as well.
Even with his helmet blocking his face from view, Homura could tell that a sinister smile was adorning Evolto's face.
...
*BOOOM!*
With a loud explosion, the ice that was encasing Homura's body shattered into pieces as fog filled the medical room.
"Hah!"
Waking up with a start, Homura forced himself to sit up as he looked around the ruined room.
Although she was closest to the blast, Hayate was relatively unharmed.
The others were also able to protect themselves at the last second before the explosion occurred.
"Homura!"
Shouting his name, Hayate deactivated her Unison with Rein and ran up to Homura's side.
Nanoha and the others also quickly gathered around Homura's bedside.
"Ngh..."
Gripping his head, Homura let out a pained groan as the memories of his conversation with Evolto flooded his brain.
"Are you alright?"
Pushing her way to the front, Shamal asked as she started examining Homura's body.
"...I'm fine."
Resisting the massive headache that was threatening to split his head apart, Homura gave Shamal a forced smile of reassurance.
"Waaah!"
Suddenly, Rein transformed into the size of a regular human girl and flew towards Homura.
*Bang!*
With a bang, the two children fell off the bed and hit the floor.
"I-I was so worried! I thought you were going to die!"
With her arms wrapped tightly around Homura, Rein wailed as tears flowed from her eyes.
"..."
Though shocked by Rein's sudden embrace, Homura placed his arms around the girl and gently stroked her head.
"I'm alright, Rein."
Homura said with a gentle smile.
"I won't die that easily."
"Hic."
Letting out a hiccup, Rein quietly nodded at Homura's words as she tightened her hold over the young Kamen Rider.
"...Ehem."
As she embraced Homura, a cough sounded out from behind of Rein, causing the young girl to flinch.
Slowly turning her head around, Rein was met with the cattish grin of Hayate and the others present in the room.
"Kyaaaa!"
With a scream, Rein leapt away from Homura with a beet-red face and quickly ran out of the room, reverting to her previous size as she did so.
"..."
Puzzled by Rein's reaction, Homura looked at the closing door before returning his line of sight to the others.
"What happened to her?"
Homura asked with genuine confusion in his voice.
"...Nothing."
Mentally sighing at Homura's denseness, Hayate replied with a shake of her head.
"Anyway, do you feel any abnormalities in your body right now, Homura?"
Putting away the situation with Rein aside, Shamal asked Homura with worried eyes.
"I'm fine."
"What happened? Nanoha said that you suddenly collapsed after saying some stuff."
Vita asked.
"It's nothing. I just...found out some things."
Homura answered with a complicated expression.
"What were they?"
"...Let's talk about it later. It seems like the explosion attracted some people over."
Homura replied as his ears twitched at the distant footsteps that were approaching.
"Also, where are my clothes."
Looking down at his naked body, Homura asked.