"Last night, a local supermarket was attacked by an unknown Krimival. Numerous people were injured, including most of the shoppers and employees, and many officers who arrived on the scene. The attack resulted in the deaths of seven men and women, three of whom were of the police. This marks the fifth attack this week by a Krimival, and once again, people everywhere are advised to be on the lookout for anyone matching-"
"Shut up already," Karin Inoue sighed as she picked up the remote and switched the television off. The young journalist rubbed her temples as she reclined against her couch. "Krimival attacks… That's all the news ever wants to talk about these days," she muttered to herself. "Can we please just get something positive on there for once? I have to deal with enough depressing stuff at work."
Letting out another sigh, she twisted around and yanked open the curtains. She immediately regretted it as the harsh rays of the morning sun caught her eyes. Turning away, she blinked slowly as vision returned to her, revealing the mess that was her tiny apartment. And truly, tiny was the only word for it; other than an equally small bathroom, there was hardly any room for her worn-out couch and secondhand television. Bits of paper and old food wrappers littered the floor around her trashcan, only adding to the appearance. In a sense, though, the state of the apartment perfectly reflected the owner.
Karin, despite only recently having turned 25, looked twice as old as a woman her age should. In no small part was it due to the way she carried herself; she always appeared tired, which could very well be true considering the constant fear of Krimival attacks as well as working nonstop just to keep herself fed and sheltered. Dark rings had formed under her eyes long ago and she always looked as if she was just a moment away from collapsing. At the moment, she was wearing a dark blue shirt that was much too big for her and baggy sweatpants, though the black pantsuit and coat she wore for her job hung nearby on a nail that was sticking out of the wall. Next to it was a clock, and she frowned at the time: 5:24 in the morning.
"Why do I have to go to work so early?" she complained, slowly getting up from the minor comfort of her couch. "Seriously, hardly anyone ever goes to work this early in the morning anymore." Shaking her head, she entered the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Grabbing a lock of her long, black hair, she twisted it around in her fingers as she thought about what today meant for her: work, work, work, work, work, all for a salary that wasn't even laughable. Sighing, she let her hair fall and began to freshen up for the day as best she could.
Fifteen minutes later, she was in her car – equally as small as her apartment – and was off to work.
"It's my fault…"
A figure stumbled through the alleyway, knocking over bags of trash as he bounced from wall to wall, repeating the words "It's my fault" over and over again to himself. He was middle-aged, with his hair already showing signs of gray that matched the color of his suit almost perfectly. The only thing that kept it from being a perfect match was the dark red that stained the sleeves, with a large splash of it on his direct front. A similarly colored liquid formed a trail behind him, and his hands left crimson prints on the walls of the alley.
Finally, he stumbled and fell, barely catching himself from slamming headfirst into the concrete. "It's all my fault," he whispered. "I-I attacked those people… I k-k-killed them… They're dead… because of me. " Bringing his hands to his face, his breathing quickened as he saw the scarlet stains. "This is their blood. Their blood is on my hands!"
The man's head suddenly snapped to the side as a low growl tore from his throat. "Shut up already! You don't have to feel guilty, dammit!" a voice, low and monstrous, came from his own lips. As he turned his head back around, anyone nearby would have been shocked to see that half of his face was missing, now replaced by a dark mist. Within the mist itself, the image of thorny vines coiled around each other to form some semblance of a face could be seen, with a bright, blood-red ball for an eye inside of a black void.
"But-But I… I killed them!" the man shouted, grasping his head in his hands. "They're dead because I killed them!"
"So?" the monster asked, its red eye rolling in its socket. "It wasn't anything that wasn't deserved! They should have listened to you. You're smarter than them, more experienced, and you always have been! And now..." a deep chuckle came from his throat, "now, you're stronger. Much stronger! And people are supposed to listen to those who are better than them, aren't they?"
"But I just wanted help-"
"Help? You don't need help!" the monstrous voice roared. Slowly, the man got back to his feet as the monster continued. "People should be asking for your help, for your advice, and your instructions! They should follow your orders with no questions, like the servants that they are. And if they can't do that…" A low laugh erupted from the man's mouth as thorn-covered vines shot from under his clothes, seeking out the blood around him and sucking it up. "…we'll bleed them dry."
The man's back arched as his face lit up with a look of intense pleasure, only to vanish as the mist covered his entire face. He let out a feral cry vines erupted from underneath his clothes, wrapping and coiling around his body. When it was finished, he could hardly be considered a man again. His body was a dark green, made up of vines so twisted and knotted that they looked almost impenetrable. His head was dome shaped, with a ring of thorns circling his head like a crown. Beneath his eyes was a small hole, from which a pale green vine suddenly snaked out and moved over where his lips would have been. Hanging from his shoulders were several vines that formed a sort of small cape that reached to the small of his back.
"Yes…" the Vine Krimival whispered to himself as the vines on his back all writhed as one before shooting outwards towards the last few remaining spots of blood. He let out a moan of ecstasy as he drank up the red liquid. "They'll do as I say, all of them!" he roared, tilting his head back. "And if they don't, I'll drain every last drop out of them!" Suppressing a shudder as the last few drops of blood were absorbed, he began to head out of the alley, only to stop when he saw his reflection in a nearby window. For a moment, he looked at himself, almost admiringly.
A moment later, he snapped one of his fingers. One of the vines hanging from his back shot out and shattered the window, eliciting a scream from whoever was in the building.
The hole on his face widened slightly, like some twisted smile, as he left the alleyway.
"Of course this would happen," Karin sighed, staring at the crowd in front of her. Upon arriving at work, the chief editor of the news magazine she worked for had sent her out to gather information about some big announcement the government was going to have today. From what she'd managed to gather already, most people were saying that the government had finally done the impossible:
They'd found a way to fight the Krimivals.
Even if it was just the rumor mill at work, it definitely had people excited. By the time she'd arrived at the building where the press conference was to be held at, the area was swamped by other journalists, reporters, and even camera crews from news stations who wanted to be the first to get this information. At the moment, they were all waiting in the lobby just outside the room where the conference would be held, and Karin was already wishing she'd slept in. With all these other people here, with full crews no less, there was really no way she'd be able to get her job done.
Sighing, she brought a hand up to her temple to nurse the headache that was already coming her way.
"So, do you think it's true? That they found a way to fight against the Krimivals, I mean."
Her ears twitched at the topic, and she turned her head slightly to better hear the conversation. It was going to be a while before they opened the doors to the building, so she might as well find some way to pass the time.
"I don't see how they could," another man replied. Catching a glimpse of him from the corner of her eye, she saw he was older than the man who'd asked the question and his arms were folded against his chest. "I mean, what could they possibly do to fight against a Krimival?"
"I heard it was some kind of secret project, like they caught one of the Krimivals and found a way to make it do what they want."
"Don't be such a fool!" the elder of the two said as he slapped the back of his co-worker's head. "Have you seen how much firepower it takes just to hurt one of those monsters? They had to use anti-tank rounds – dozens of them – just to crack the skin on one, and it still managed to level a few blocks before they finally did enough to do it in! Just how the hell are they supposed to capture one if it took that much to hurt it?"
"I don't know! Maybe they drugged it?"
"That wouldn't work," the man replied, shaking his head. "They tried that with one of the first Krimival attacks, and all it did was make it angrier. From what scientists have been saying, they don't even have nerves, organs, or anything that could be affected anyway."
Karin was pulled from the conversation by a sudden clamor coming from the front of the crowd. Looking forwards, she saw that one of the men that had been in front of the door had now opened it, and he was now ushering people inside. Quickly following the crowd into the room, she saw it was a vast room with rows and rows of folding chairs, all set in front of a podium. Pushing her way through the crowd, she took a chair for herself, and, looking over her shoulder, saw that she was one of the lucky ones. There were a lot of people who would be standing up for this conference.
Twenty minutes passed while everyone filed in and camera crews got into position. The entire time she had to fight to stay awake, but she became alert when a man walked out to the podium, as the room was immediately filled with the noise of hundreds of loud questions. Every single one of them was met with silence as he simply crossed the stage to the podium. When he reached it, he tapped the microphone on it twice, causing the noise to cease.
"Thank you," he said, his voice magnified by the microphone, "and welcome. I understand the difficulty and worries of gathering like this with the current crisis our nation faces, and for that, I would like to thank all of you." Despite his old appearance, the man still cut an imposing image in the dark blue suit he wore. His face bore the signs of time, and it appeared that he'd shaved his head.
Clearing his throat, he continued. "As some of you may know, my name is Maruo Tanaka. Just like many citizens of this nation, and many of you, I'm sure, I have lost loved ones to the threat of the Krimivals, the monsters who terrorize Japan." He paused for a moment. "For far too long, they have held our people in the cold grip of fear, and they have shown no signs of stopping-"
"Mr. Tanaka!" a reporter at the front of the room interrupted, earning a disapproving look from the man. "Mr. Tanaka, are they true? Are the rumors that the government has finally found a way to fight the Krimivals true?"
Looking away from the man, Tanaka looked over the room, seeing the eager looks on the faces of each and ever man and woman who was attending this conference. The corners of his lips twitched slightly, in what might have been a smile. "Yes," he answered, after several moments of breathless silence.
"Yes, we have found a way to effectively combat the Krimivals -" Already cheers began to go up as the man spoke. "-without any loss of life or resource."
The room went into an uproar at his statement, with questions as to how this was possible and what it was mixed with triumphant cheers and heartfelt cries of thanks. If one were to look around the room, they would find that several people were beginning to break down in tears and some had run off to corners with their phones, eager to call their families and tell them of this great news.
After several minutes of excitement, Tanaka finally spoke again, quieting the room. " The brightest minds from all across the country have worked for months in order to develop a weapon that would allow a single man or woman to fight a Krimival," he told the audience, "and I am proud to say that the test results have been exceedingly positive. Each and every one of the test subjects has displayed the power and capability to injure and dispatch a Krimival, as well as withstand its attacks. At the moment, however, I'm afraid I can not go into greater detail as to who these subjects are, but know that they will be actively fighting the Krimival."
A shocked silence reigned as everyone processed just what this meant. Everyone in the room had seen the videos of nearly a hundred police officers firing on one Krimival with every weapon they had, only for the monster to shrug off the bullets, or of how one could tear through a steel vault door as if it were wet paper. They'd all seen the images of the aftermath of an attempt to destroy just one of them, and now, to hear that a single man or woman, a human, could fight one of these creatures and win was almost unbelievable.
As Tanaka continued speaking, Karin came to the conclusion that he'd told them as much as he was going to tell them at this point. It wasn't worth sitting in a room for an untold amount of time just to hear him go over the same thing again and again, or to talk about how the Krimivals' reign of terror was coming to an end. Quietly getting up and heading for the door, she decided to tell her boss that they'd have to wait for one of these people to show up before they got any more information.
"Excuse me! Miss!" She'd just stepped through the door and into the main lobby when a voice from behind startled her. Before she could turn around, a young man ran up from behind her and placed himself in front of her. He wore a black jacket and faded jeans, and there was an easy smile on his face. "You know, the event's still going on," he said, looking past her towards the building. "Why don't you head back in and see the whole thing? I hear it's supposed to be very exciting."
Looking at the young man, Karin couldn't help but frown. He was kind of handsome, with messy brown hair and boyish looks, and the scar on his cheek added something to his appearance. Still, she didn't really feel like dealing with anyone right now, not after such a big announcement. Getting this news back to her boss and heading home was the only thing she could think of. "There's no point in staying if he won't say anything worth my time," she told him as she pushed past him. She took maybe three steps before he was in front of her again.
"Y-you don't exactly know if he isn't, do you?" There was a nervous expression on his face and he idly scratched a spot just next to his scar. "I mean, maybe he's just getting started! Yeah, and if you go now, you'll miss out on something big!" He craned his head to look behind him and for a moment he looked worried. "Listen, could you please just… go back in there and stay for the next hour or so? It's important."
"I doubt that," Karin said as she pushed past him. "He already said he wouldn't say anything more about those test subjects, so I'll just wait until they start showing up. I got what my boss wanted, so I'm leaving." As she pushed open the doors, she heard a sharp intake of breath followed by rapid footsteps.
"I'm serious! Don't leave this building!" he yelled, grabbing her wrist firmly.
In response, she spun around and slapped his cheek hard. "Don't touch me!" she hissed, before turning around and marching away from the young man. A moment later, she realized that he was still behind her. Speeding up, she moved into a nearby plaza, thinking she could lose him in the crowd that was there.
After a few minutes of this, she realized he was still right behind her.
Finally having enough, she turned around. "Okay, what the hell is your problem?" Karin yelled. "First you walk up to me out of nowhere and tell me what to do, then you grab my hand when I try and leave, and now you're following me? Are you trying to get me to have you arrested?"
"You shouldn't be out here," he whispered. His eyes darted from side to side, and he seemed jittery, like he was expecting something to happen at any moment. "It's dangerous to be out here right now. One of them is here somewhere, I can feel it!"
"One of what?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling.
He looked around the area for a moment before looking back to her. "A Krimival," he answered in a hushed whisper.
"A Krimival!?"
He jumped at the sudden outburst and quickly clamped a hand over her mouth as every man and woman around them stopped what they were doing and looked towards them. "Um, hi," he said nervously. "Nothing to see here. She just, uh… A house near hers got attacked by a Krimival, and she got a little worried when I told her. There's no reason to start panicking, none at all." Everyone around them kept staring for a few more seconds before deciding that it wasn't worth paying attention. Seeing this, the young man let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Karin.
She replied by biting down on his hand. Hard.
Slapping his free hand over his mouth to keep from crying out, he quickly yanked his hand from her mouth and began shaking it. "Ow ow ow ow ow!" he gritted out. As he massaged the bitten hand with his free hand, he turned to her with a pained expression. "What'd you do that for?" he asked, his voice almost a yell.
"For being a creep!" she huffed. There was a somewhat nasty taste in her mouth and she decided she'd brush her teeth as soon as she got home. "Not to mention a complete liar! Do you really expect me to believe you, a complete stranger who, so far, has done nothing but stalk me, can detect that there's a Krimival around here?"
"Yes!" he answered. A second later, however, he averted his eyes. "Actually, when you put it that way, not really…" Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked around with an embarrassed look on his face. Another second later, he brightened up. "Oh, wait! I'm technically not a stranger if you know my name, am I?" he reasoned. Turning back to her, he gave her a sincere smile. "Naoki Akuzaki! It's what my parents decided to call me when I was born, and I'm happy to keep it!"
Karin was less than impressed. "Great. Now I know the name of my stalker." Shaking her head, she sighed. "What a weirdo," she muttered as she turned away.
"Such a poisonous tongue ought to be ripped out." To say she was shocked by that statement would be putting it mildly. Turning back around, ready to verbally tear into him, she stopped when she saw the blank look on his face. Only a moment ago he'd seemed happy; to see such a change was surprising. "…Maybe I should leave you to the Krimival."
He suddenly slapped himself, hard enough to make himself stumble. "No! No, bad Naoki, bad! You can't think like that!" he told himself. "This is your second chance at life! You can't mess it up now!"
"She's been nothing but rude though! Slapping me, biting me, running from me – I'm trying to help her, so why is she acting like this?"
"That's how anyone would react to a stranger."
"But she knows my name. I'm not a stranger."
"She did all of that before you told her your name, so you were still a stranger!"
"But I was trying to protect her from the Kri-" He slapped himself again, almost falling over from the force of the hit.
"Enough! Do you want to cause a panic?" Stopping, he took in a deep breath and slowly let it out before turning back around. "Sorry, where were… we?" A look of worry came over his face as he saw that she had vanished. He let out a silent curse as he took off to find her.
"So he's not just a creepy stalker, he's a creepy, crazy stalker. Perfect." Karin shook her head as she quickened her pace, wanting to get to her car as quickly as she could. "Really, how did he expect me to react to him? Chasing me, grabbing my arm, covering my mouth – only a weirdo would do those things! And him 'feeling' a Krimival? What a load of garbage."
She stopped mid-stride as she thought about it. When he'd said that, she had reacted as if he was right; as if there really was a Krimival nearby. "He didn't look like he was lying either… He looked really worried, actually."
An idea suddenly hit her and she immediately brought a hand to her mouth. "Mr. Tanaka said that there were people that could fight Krimivals. Wouldn't it make sense if they could… sense where they are?" Looking back towards where she came from, she frowned. "Wouldn't that make him – No, just no."
She quickly shook her head and brought her hands to her temples. "There's no way he could be one of those people, just no way! I'm – I'm just tired, a-and confused, and what Mr. Tanaka said is making me imagine things, and I just need to go home and take a nap and forget about that crazy man!"
Satisfied with what she'd told herself, she turned and went into an alleyway. In her efforts to escape Naoki while he'd been talking to himself, she'd gone a bit out of the way to lose him. That, and she had walked away from him without realizing her car was in the other direction. Thankfully, she knew the layout of the area well enough, and cutting through this alley would get her to her car quicker.
At least, that was her plan. Her plan had not, however, involved a man running towards her in fear.
"Save me, save me!" he screamed as he ran towards her, only to trip on a box someone had thrown out into the alley at some point. He landed in front of her and looked up, his eyes filled with tears as he repeated the words, "Save me," again and again.
She shook her head in disbelief. "What are you-"
"Ah, there you are!"
She jumped as the man screamed at the sound of the voice. It was deep and raspy, sounding a bit like two pieces of metal being scraped against each other. Looking at the other end of the alley, Karin screamed as she saw what the voice belonged to.
It was a Krimival, with a body made up of what looked like thorn-covered vines and blood red eyes. It tilted its dome-shaped head as it saw her. "Ooh, someone new!" it chuckled. Before she could react, a pair of vines shot from behind it and wrapped themselves around her waist. She screamed as she was lifted into the air and suddenly thrown to the ground near the Krimival, where it looked down at her in interest. "And such a pretty face… Just wait right here." Looking back to the fallen man, it let out a small laugh. "I have to punish this man for not listening."
The man let out a small cry as he scrambled to his feet, trying to get out of the alley. It proved pointless when vines suddenly wrapped around his wrists, ankles, and neck, and began to pull him back into the alley. "I didn't tell you to run, did I? You're supposed to ask me what to do, like a good servant, not decide on your own," the Krimival scolded. "And do you know what happens to bad servants?" The man whimpered as the small hole that was the Vine Krimival's mouth widened slightly.
"THEY GET PUNISHED!"
With a roar, the Krimival lifted the man into the air. Its remaining vines shot up after him and quickly wrapped around his body, covering everything but his head. The man screamed as the vines began to tighten, and Karin screamed with him as drops of crimson began to leak from the vines onto the Krimival, each drop making him cry out in what sounded disturbingly like pleasure.
Finally, the Krimival threw his body to the ground, revealing the damage that had been done. Karin screamed as she saw the blood covered body, and screamed again as she saw the man actually try and move. The Krimival noticed and made a sound of disgust. "Oh? Did I say you could survive that?" Its vines lifted up and began to repeatedly slam into the man, and Karin brought a hand to her mouth at the sound of the first crack of bone.
By the time it was done, the man's body was lying in a deep depression in the concrete, and the Krimival was panting heavily as its vines soaked up the blood from the attack. "A good servant does whatever the master wishes, and will do nothing but! Those who aren't willing to follow my decisions, or who make their own, are only fit for punishment!" The monster turned its head to face her, and Karin realized it was speaking to her. "You agree." It wasn't a question. It was a solid statement.
As the vines finished with the body, they came back to the Krimival and began to suck up the blood covering its body. It walked towards her as they did, its head tilted slightly. "My, my… Such a pretty little thing. And your blood! Oh, it was delicious." A little confused by what it had said, she looked down to see that, indeed, she had been injured by the vines when they'd grabbed her. "Now, stop wasting it."
She looked up at the monster in confusion, an act that only seemed to irritate it. "Well? I told you to stop bleeding, so stop!"
A cold chill ran down her spine as she realized what was about to happen. "I-I c-can't," she whispered, backing away on her hands as the creature looked down at her. "I-I can't just s-stop bleeding. Pl-please, I-I-"
"Are you… ignoring my decision?" Her eyes widened as its fists clenched. In the blink of an eye, she was lifted off the ground, its vines wrapped around her tightly as it brought her close to its face. "I told you already: A good servant does nothing but what their master wishes! I am your master and you will obey me! Stop bleeding!" it screamed, making her cry out in pain as its vines began to dig into her body.
A moan escaped its lips as some of her blood was sucked into its body. "So good… It feels so good!" It brought her closer to its face as it growled hungrily. "Stop it. Stop it right now! I didn't tell you to confuse me, but now I can't decide whether to make you my servant or to suck you dry!" A pale green vine shot from its mouth and caressed her cheek. She screamed and flinched from the contact, which only caused the thorns to dig further into her body. "Such a hard decision… But if you won't listen to me, then you're a bad servant. And bad servants… must be PUNISHED!" The vines began to tighten, and Karin found it hard to breathe. She let out a weak cry as the thorns began to dig in even deeper. She closed her eyes and waited for it to end.
"Let her go!"
Suddenly, the vines loosened, and she fell to the ground painfully. She let out a whimper from the pain but quickly recovered when she saw who was in front of her.
Naoki stood in front of her, his feet planted firmly on the ground and his hands clenched into tight fists. Beyond him, the Krimival was lying on the ground, clutching at its chest. "I knew you were around here somewhere. I guess I was just a bit lucky to run into you and the Krimival at the same time, yeah?" Turning his head, he gave her a smile, only for his eyes to widen and his head to snap back around. "Um…" He began to fumble with his jacket, eventually getting it off. "Here, you … you might want to take this," he told her, offering the jacket.
Confused, she stared at it. "But, why-"
"Just- Look at your clothes!"
"What about…" She went quiet as she finally realized what he meant. Apparently, the thorns on the vine had torn through more than just her skin, and her pantsuit was in tatters. Blushing furiously, she snatched the jacket out of his hands and hid as much of her body as she could with it. "T-thank you…"
"How!?" Naoki was interrupted from replying by a furious howl from the Krimival, which was still clutching its chest. "I'm a Krimival! I'm far stronger than any human! How… How could someone like you hurt me! It's impossible!" Its vines shuddered as it reared its head back and screamed, balling its fists at its sides.
That's when Karin saw it.
To injure a Krimival, extreme force had to be used. Some of the best known examples were the use of weapons designed to destroy heavily armored tanks, and even then it would take dozens of rounds to even scratch one of them. Regular weapons like a gun wouldn't even make a dent, and the one time someone had been foolish enough to attack one with their fists, both hands had been broken before the Krimival had even realized someone was attacking it.
This man, Naoki Akuzaki, had managed to leave an imprint of his shoe on the monster's chest with a single kick.
Grinning, Naoki shook his head. "Sorry, but the whole 'I'm a Krimival' excuse just isn't going to cut it with me. Heck, Krimivals like you aren't going to have even the smallest chance against me or any of my comrades," he said, crossing his arms. "Sorry, but we're just in a completely different class compared to you." A thoughtful look came over his face, much to the Vine Krimival's surprise. "I mean, just yesterday I watched Kaori eat a whole-"
"Enough!" the monster roared, sending out a group of its vines. They wrapped around each other to form a larger, club-like vine which struck Naoki in the side. The force of the blow shot him through the air and carried him into the side of one of buildings. The giant vine swung again and the wall of the building cracked as his body was forced into the brick. Karin watched in horror as the dust cleared and she let out a small cry when she saw his head lying against his chest.
"I've made a decision: I won't drink a single drop of your blood!" the Krimival hissed as it looked at the man's body. Slowly, the rage it felt faded away and it stopped shaking. Looking back towards Karin, it let out a weak laugh. "He decided to surprise me, apparently. But no one can fight against a Krimival." Its blood-red eyes seemed to flash as it began walking towards her. "Now…" The pale green vine shot out of its mouth as it 'licked' its 'lips'. "Where were we, before we were interrupted?"
Karin screamed and began to crawly away as it came closer and closer. It laughed and launched its vines at her, each striking the ground around her and forming a sort of cage. Finally, it got in front of her and knelt down, tilting its head to the side slightly. "I see you're still not listening to me. I guess you'll still be facing-"
"It's rude to interrupt someone when they're talking, you know." Karin and the Krimival's eyes widened as they heard the voice of Naoki coming from behind the two of them. Turning around, the Krimival let out a gasp as he saw Naoki step out of the indent his body had made and stretch slightly. "I mean, I guess I did the same thing just now, but I was talking first, so its really only fair." He winced as a bone in his shoulder popped, but quickly shook it off. "Now, what was I saying again – Oh yeah!" Turning to face them, he smiled. "Anyway, she just took this chicken and ate the whole thing in a few minutes! It had to be some kind of record, don't you think?"
The Krimival just stared at him in shock. Its intention had been to crush him, not drink any of his blood, and its attack should have done just that. For all intents and purposes, the young man that was standing before it should be little more than a fleshy bag of broken bones, shredded muscles, and blood. And yet, here he was, laughing about some stupid chicken story like he hadn't even been hit! In fact, the only sign the Vine Krimival could even see that confirmed he'd been hit was that his shirt was torn.
"You look a little surprised," Naoki said, breaking the Krimival out of its shocked state. "Then again, it's a little hard to tell considering how your face isn't really much of a face, but still. I'm sure you're wondering 'How is he still standing!? He should be dead! Do I stand a chance against him?!' Well, you might not be thinking that last one, but the other two are pretty close, right?"
With a growl, the creature sent its vines at him. As they came at him, Naoki casually dodged each one. "Well you see, our normal bodies have to be strong and fast enough to make sure you guys can't take us down with a surprise attack," Naoki explained as he ducked under a swinging vine. "I mean, it'd be a bit disappointing if it was that easy, right?"
"Shut up!" the Krimival screamed as it ran at him, intent on beating him to death with its fists. Just like with the vines, Naoki dodged each of its strikes. "I don't understand!" It swung a right at Naoki's head, only for the young man to spin around the Krimival and get behind it. He gave it a swift kick to the back that sent it sprawling to the ground. "This is impossible! How can a human do this to me?! I'm a Krimval, dammit!"
As it got back to its feet, Naoki reached behind him and pulled something from his back pocket. It was a bright emerald green belt buckle, one that was larger and bulkier than any belt buckle really should be. As Karin looked at it, she saw that it was mechanical, and on the front , right in the middle, was a strange design. It looked like a V had been slapped over an E, with the top two legs of the E connecting with the V while the bottom leg went past it.
"You know, I haven't had a chance to use this against a real Krimival before now," Naoki admitted as he looked at the belt buckle. He tossed it into the air and caught it with his other hand. "But if the simulations and tests were right, then this should be fun!"
As Karin watched, he brought the belt buckle to his waist. A green, syrupy liquid shot out of the side and flowed around his waist, solidifying as it met the other end of the buckle and forming an emerald green belt around him. The Krimival glared at him as it finally got back to its feet, and both it and Karin watched as Naoki threw his left hand into the air, the index finger pointing to the sky. He used his other hand to slap the emblem on his belt, causing something to click inside.
"ARE YOU JEALOUS!?"
The Krimival jumped back at the sound of the loud male's voice that came from the belt buckle. "Jealous!? Jealous of what!?" Pointing at Naoki, it began to shake with rage. "You… Don't you dare even think about taunting me! I'm the boss! I'm the one in charge! I make the decisions, and I've decided you're dead meat!" The vines on its back shot into the air as Naoki lowered his left hand until the finger was right between his eyes.
"Hen…"
With a cry of anger, the monster thrust its hands forwards, commanding its appendages to descend towards Naoki. They shot down at a blinding speed, looking to impale the young man.
Naoki didn't even glance at them. "SHIN!" he called, swinging his raised hand down so it struck the emblem on his belt, which began to spin furiously.
"SIN OF ENVY!"
As the emblem spun, a black and emerald-green liquid sprayed out of it, sticking itself to Naoki's clothes and skin. As the Krimival's vines struck it, it hissed in pain as the liquid burned straight through its vines. Surprisingly, not a single drop of the liquid touched the ground or any of the surrounding area, a fact that Karin was grateful for after seeing what it had done to the Krimival.
Within a few seconds, the liquid had covered the young man's entire body, leaving him in a black, latex-like suit that covered him from head to toe. The green liquid began to harden and form armor over the suit. First, it formed shoulder, elbow, and knee pads over his joints, and then it created a thinner layer of armor over his arms and legs. His hands became covered by thick, cestus-like gloves, with emeralds embedded in the backs of the hands. Two bands of green crossed over his chest as green spirals formed around his forearms and lower legs. The young man punched his fists together and began to jump up and down, almost like a boxer as they prepare for a fight, as the green liquid formed a green and black helmet with emerald green compound eyes that flashed when the transformation finished.
"Listen up! Japan no longer has to fear the Krimivals!" the transformed young man announced, pointing his fist at the stunned Vine Krimival. "No longer shall the citizens of this great country cower in fear of the Krimival's strength! No longer will men and women suspect the people they love as being Krimivals! And most important of all: No child shall ever have to fear the monsters that lurk outside their homes!"
He raised his fist to the sky. "I am Deviant Rider Sin!" he announced.
Behind him, Karin stared wide-eyed. "Deviant Rider?" she whispered.
Bringing his fist down to his face, Naoki stared at it intently. "This is my second chance at life! I won't let it go to waste!" Looking up at the monster, he punched at it with his fist. "So, you better start begging for mercy!"
"I decide who should start begging for mercy, dammit!" The monster yelled back.
Both Rider and Krimival charged at each other, each letting loose a battle cry. The Krimival struck first, swinging a fist at Naoki's head, but the Rider simply blocked with his forearm and pushed it aside, leaving the monster open for a punch of his own. The Vine Krimival was knocked back by the force of the blow, which left an impression on its chest next to the shoeprint. "Die already!" it cried, willing its vines to strike the young man down. Each vine that came near him was caught and ripped apart. As the remains of his vines retreated to him, the Krimival looked at the ground in shock. "I-Impossible! How can you be stronger than me!?"
"I'm pretty sure I already answered that one," Naoki replied, pounding his fists together as he calmly walked towards the monster.
It attempted to wrap its arms around him and push him back, but the Rider's feet remained firmly where they were. Instead, Naoki wrapped his arms around the Krimival's sides and pushed, actually managing to lift it from the ground. The Krimival screamed as Naoki ran forwards with it, knocking over piles of trash that had been left in the alleyway until finally they both entered the street ahead. Not bothering to stop, Naoki plowed headfirst into a truck that was sitting on the side of the road in front of them, burying the monster in the metal. On impact, he released, and the force of the charge carried the truck and monster to the other side of the street. All around him, citizens ran in terror, only to stop when they saw him reach into the warped metal of the truck and pull the Krimival out, tossing it to the ground.
Behind him, Karin managed to reach the end of the alleyway, using the wall as support and clutching the jacket tightly to her body. She, along with everyone else, watched as the Deviant Rider ducked and weaved around the Krimival, which was striking out with its fists wildly. Occasionally, Naoki would counter with a punch of his own, and soon he was practically running circles around it.
As she watched, Karin finally realized something that shocked her: Naoki was toying with the Krimival.
It was like a drunkard trying to hit a black belt, or a kid trying to punch at an adult. That was the difference in skill and power between the Krimival and Naoki. If she wasn't watching it firsthand, Karin wouldn't be able to believe it: A Krimival, one of the unstoppable terrors that had been plaguing Japan for the past two years, so strong that the police and SDF stood no chance against them and were slaughtered every time they encountered one, capable of holding the entire city of Tokyo in fear, was being beaten by a young man who was doing little more than playing with it.
The terror of their lives was being beaten by a human.
Karin felt something wash over her as she saw the Krimival jump away from Naoki, only to fall to the ground in exhaustion. Naoki, on the other hand, just brushed his chin with his fist. For the first time ever, she could say that the Krimival didn't scare her.
Because now, there was someone stronger, a young man, protecting her.
"Time to finish this," Naoki said as he lowered his left fist. With it, he slapped the emblem on his belt buckle, causing the armor on the suit to begin glowing with energy.
"I… didn't say this was over!" the Krimival panted, staggering to its feet. With a roar, it forced its vines to grow back and sent them flying towards him. "I decide when it ends and who it ends for, not you!" it declared, a plan already forming in its head as it saw the young man charging at it with his fists raised. The young man had done nothing but punch their entire fight, so if the Krimival could simply dodge the next punch, he'd be able to counter.
Naoki dodged the vines that came towards him, bobbing and weaving past them with practiced ease. As he closed the distance, he reared his fist back. "Jealousy Rider…" Just as the Krimival expected then. When they were only a few feet away, too close for Naoki to defend or change plans, the Vine Krimival ducked, preparing to let the punch fly over its head.
"KICK!"
The Krimival looked on in shock as Naoki, spinning around and using his other foot for support, drove his lowered boot into its face, sending it sprawling backwards. Green energy began to erupt from its body as it stumbled to its feet. "No! I decide… I decide what you do next, not you!" Large geysers of green energy erupted from its back, sending it to its knees. "This – This isn't happening! I'm a Krimival!" it cried.
"You're just a human!"
The Krimival let out an agonized cry as its body exploded into a green fireball that enveloped Naoki. Swinging his arms, the Deviant Rider dispelled the fire and smoke that covered him before walking over to a small pile of ashes and kneeling down beside it.
"I'm a sinner, just like you were," he whispered. The ashes of the Krimival were picked up by a sudden gust of wind and blown away as Naoki looked on. "The only difference is that I wish to be forgiven for my sins."
Standing up, he seemed to suddenly realize that he was in a public area, and the people around him were all staring at him in awe. Rubbing the back of his helmet in embarrassment, he said the first thing that came to mind.
"Nice day, isn't it?"
Tanaka reclined in an armchair, relaxing after the conference he had just held. It felt good to know that the Krimival problem was finally coming to an end. Now, he'd decided there would be no better way to end the day than with a nice glass of wine. The bottle was already uncorked and on his desk, and he held a half-filled wine glass in his hand. He was about to take a sip when there was a knock on the door. "Enter," he said.
His young secretary entered, carefully shutting the door behind her. Just by looking at her one could tell she was nervous and she only came halfway into the room before stopping and giving him a respectful bow. "Um, sir, Ms. Nazami has requested you check the news. Apparently, there is something rather important that you need to see," she told him nervously.
"Very well. You may go." He waved his hand and she left the room as quickly as she entered. Picking up the remote from his desk, he turned in his chair and faced the wall. With the press of a button, a section of the wall sunk inwards and split as a television screen came out from within it. He pressed the power button on the remote.
"-defeated a Krimival." Tanaka nearly dropped his glass at what he heard. What he saw made his lip curl up in disgust: Naoki Akuzaki, still wearing the armor of Deviant Rider Sin, celebrating with men, women, and children in the streets. "I repeat: This man behind me has just defeated a Krimival with his bare hands, as the people around me have said. Could this be what Maruo Tanaka was talking about at today's press conference? And if so, how long will it be before all the Krimival have been defeated?"
"That idiot," he whispered to himself as he pressed a button on the remote. The screen instantly froze on an image of Sin surrounded by men and women who were cheering for him. Naoki himself had his arms in the air, and even with the helmet Tanaka could tell he was smiling. "The Deviant Riders weren't supposed to appear for another week." Taking his glass, he threw his head back and drank it all in one go before pouring another and repeating the process.
"If only they knew the truth," he said. Standing up, he walked over to the screen and smiled. "They cheer for you now, Naoki Akuzaki, so savor this moment while you still can. For soon, the Deviant Riders will be the bane of everyone's existence. But you… Your name shall be cursed by everyone." He stared at the image for moment before shutting off the television and walking away, a thin smile on his face.
NEXT TIME ON KAMEN RIDER SIN!
"Finally, we have hope in our country's struggle against the Krimivals..."
"Seven Deviant Riders!? There's six more like you!?"
"ARE YOU VAIN!?"