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Chapter 07: Kamen Rider Kabuto Part 3
Ground Zero Base
The Doom Slayer trudged through the darkness. The facility's lights had gone dark. Presumably, they thought they could inhibit his vision. They thought wrong. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and a horde of Salis Worms emerged from the shadows. All at once, they molted into their enhanced forms and clocked up, converging on the lone warrior. To them, the world stilled. Sadly for them, speed was relative for those on the same or higher tachyon frequency.
When the first creatures lunged at him, its jagged mandibles glinting in the dim light, the Slayer sidestepped the attack and brought his blade down swiftly, cleaving the Worm in insect scurried forward, wielding a crude weapon fashioned from a jagged piece of metal. The Slayer met the creature's attack head-on, his blade deflecting the blow with sparks. He then drove his sword deep into the insect's thorax, the creature's exoskeleton cracking under the force of the impact. A blur of motion as he fought, his blade slicing through the swarm. He was relentless, his attacks precise and deadly.
One by one, the Worms fell, their bodies piling up around the Doom Slayer as he fought on. He was tireless, his rage driving him forward as he battled the horde. Soon, the Worms started swarming around. Doom Slayer didn't hesitate, pulling out his shotgun and firing at the nearest bug. The creature let out a screech as it was blown apart by the powerful blast. The Doom Slayer quickly reloaded and turned to face the next wave of bugs. He dodged and weaved through their attacks, using his shotgun to take out as many as he could.
The Doom Slayer knew he could do this forever, the blasts tearing through the Worm bodies and sending them flying. Then, with a fierce determination in his eyes, he switched out to the Sticky Bombs attachment and fired a round into the swarm's center. The explosion sent body parts flying in every direction, and the remaining foes panicked, scurrying in all directions. The Doom Slayer was relentless, firing round after round into the fleeing enemies.
They continued to pour out, but the Doom Slayer was not fazed. He reloaded his shotgun and continued his assault, laying waste to the creatures with explosive force. More charged forward, their mandibles clacking together as they prepared to strike. The Doom Slayer swapped out and pulled the trigger on his plasma rifle, a stream of blue energy lancing out and attacking the Worm in the head. They fell to the ground, twitching as the argent plasma fried their bodies. Their numbers seemed endless. The Doom Slayer kept taking down one after another with well-placed shots.
The air was thick with the stench of burnt bug flesh and the crackling of energy blasts. The Doom Slayer parried or tanked the attacks and showed no signs of slowing down. Instead, he reloaded his plasma rifle and continued to fire, and the wave began to thin out. Another Worm falls to the ground, its body smoking from the plasma rifle's heat. A little light on ammo, he swapped to his chainsaw and revved it up.
The aliens hesitated momentarily, unsure of what to make of the gardening tool, But the Doom Slayer didn't give them a chance to react. Instead, he lunged forward, effortlessly slicing through the nearest bug, converting their energy into ammunition. The insects panicked at the sight of their comrade being cut down but with such brutality, and the Doom Slayer took advantage of their confusion, ruthlessly cutting through the crowds of bugs. The Doom Slayer fought on. He charged forward, the chainsaw whirring as it sliced through the wave. Their exoskeletons shattered under the blades, and their innards spilled onto the floor. The Worms fought back, their mandibles snapping and their claws lashing out. The Doom Slayer continued to hack and slash with his chainsaw. Finally, he sliced through the insect's exoskeleton and spilled its guts onto the ground.
The Worms let out a loud screech. He moved at unimaginable speed, ducking and weaving through the crowds of insects, his chainsaw never ceasing its deadly assault. The insects tried to grapple him, but the Slayer was too fast. He leaped and twisted, his chainsaw flashing as it claimed the lives of Worm after Worm. The ground became slick with ichor and the smell of death. The Slayer's chainsaw whirred as it ground through the last wave of insects, their bodies falling to the ground in a heap.
Central Command
As he descended deeper into the base, the Doom Slayer encountered wave after wave of Worms, but he cut them down quickly. Finally, he reached the heart of the floor. Kicking down the door, he was introduced to an unusual sight. Bodies of Worms were already on the ground and not by his hands. A chair before a large monitor spun, revealing a different kind of Worm than he had faced earlier. This one was tall and purple. The Slayer aimed his Heavy Assault Rifle at the leader, suspicious of his nonchalant calm tone.
The Worm, also known as Reiji Nogi, spoke. "You've caused us quite a lot of problems, stranger." Reiji stood up and walked toward the armored warrior. "However, they are nothing that the others can't be fixed in time."
Vega spoke up from the armor. "You seem rather confident that you and your associates will survive this encounter." Reiji grew a sinister smile. "You've only fought my underlings up to this point." He swung his cane a bit. "I'm much different, and I'm going to enjoy every moment of this."
In what seemed like an instant, the Doom Slayer was pushed back a few feet, and the Worm was out of sight.
A voice behind the Slayer said, "You may call me Dimidius."The Slayer whipped his body around and fired a volley of Micro Missiles. When the smoke cleared, no one was found."
I advise caution, Slayer," recommended Vega. "He's emitting a far stronger aura of tachyon energy than anyone before."
The Doom Slayer took note. If anything, he had faced this kind of speed before. However, a moment later, he simultaneously felt several kicks from different directions on his body. There were two possibilities, and the Slayer could feel the distortions in the area, confirming his suspicions. Yes, this feeling was similar to his encounters with Samur and Davoth. However, it was not due to pure speed. So, the Slayer would meet him in kind.
The world around him turned negative through a ripple effect before returning to a muted everyday world. Everything was indeed still. From the perspective of Dimidius, he was in a frozen slice of time, far superior to any Worm before. He walked around the armored man with a hint of amusement. He could feel it in his exoskeleton. This being was dangerous, and it only excited him even more."Too slow. Too slow!" This was speed beyond time. "This is ultimate power!"
Dimidius narrowed his eyes, however. His attacks didn't seem to faze the man. Was it the armor, or was it something more? Even without the power to stop time, he didn't expect the fight to last longer than it already had. After several more kicks, he attempted a killing blow. As his claw inched closer, he saw Doom Slayer's hand twitch in the corner of his eye. That simple motion caused the Worm to jump back. "That shouldn't be possible. Did he just…" Not even the Caucasus should be able to reach him.
He approached and observed. The Slayer was still: Muted, and unmoving. "Can he see me? Was I just seeing things" He growled, "Tsh… Time's up."
The world returned to normal as his powers hit their limits. When time moved forward again, Dimidius was behind. The soldier turned to face the man with a glare under his helmet. Dimidius returned the feeling. "Could you see me?"
As usual, the Slayer was silent.
"I said, could you see me?!"
The soldier dissipated his firearm and pulled a crimson hammer from his inventory.
Dimidius scoffed. "It doesn't matter! If you can move in my realm of stopped time, then let's see you move!" He went off into a manic laugh, "Now! I shall see just how powerful you are! In a world beyond time! Let's see you try to move!"
The world shifted to a muted form again. Dimidius closed the distance between the two and looked at the Slayer's hammer. Still motionless. He walked around a few more times. "Perhaps, it was a trick of my eye. You can't move in my stopped time." He raised his right claw, and more tachyon energy gathered at the edges, vibrating at impossible speeds. At this frequency, he hypothesized that he could bypass whatever protection there was. "Now! Die!"
As the claw came down, the Slayer's body regained color and moved. The Doom Slayer parried the claw with an extended doom blade and counterattacked with the Sentinel Hammer. Upon striking, the Argent weapon ripped a chunk of Dimidius's exoskeleton.
"What?!" Dimidius shouted out in pain. "He tricked me and lured me in. How can you move?"
Once again, there was no reply. The Slayer swung the hammer over his should and flipped him off.
Dimidius grit his teeth. This wasn't good.
The two began their clash between seconds. Unfortunately, the Doom Slayer was too quick, delivering a series of quick punches and kicks before swinging his hammer on the ground, creating a massive shockwave.
This change allowed him to sidestep the insect's attack and bring out the chainsaw. He swung down on one of its arms, quickly cutting through part of the exoskeleton. The insect let out a pained screech, and Doom Slayer pressed his advantage, firing his shotgun at the creature's head. The insect's carapace cracked, but it was still alive. It let out a scream. The Doom Marine quickly swapped to his shotgun and fired, dodging to the side and returning fire.
The blast hits Dimidius but doesn't take him down. Instead, he retaliated, charging his limbs to strike at the Doom Slayer, who intercepted the slash and countered with a quick melee strike with his gauntlets. Dimidius recoiled, and the Doom Slayer quickly followed up with another shot from his shotgun, hitting Dimidius in the chest. The Doom Slayer then reloaded his shotgun and charged toward Dimidius, who recovered and unleashed a series of kicks and swipes.
While pushed back momentarily, the Slayer dodged the second flurry using his dash. Then, with a quick double jump, the Doom Slayer took advantage of the moment to get close and shoot Dimidius with his Super Shotgun, causing Dimidius to stumble to the ground. Doom Slayer quickly switched back to his chainsaw, revving it and lunging toward Dimidius. The Worm tries to defend himself but is overwhelmed by the chainsaw's stopping power. Both legs suffered, and the brutal soldier forced it through the carapace.
Essentially crippled, the situation started to settle on him. Dimidius used his remaining claw to pull himself away from this... monster. Not a moment later, he screamed in pain as a heavy boot pressed down on his arm. Doom Slayer glared from under his visor. He had met these types time and time again. Sentinel Hammer equipped, he heaved it back, Argent flowing from himself to the hammer's head. The weapon cleaved through the head's exoskeleton in one massive swing and splattered its innards across the room. What remained, he used his flamer to reduce to ashes.
Excessive? Perhaps, but the Slayer wasn't one to leave his enemies a chance of survival. So, with the base cleared out, the Doom Slayer set his sights on the base's central computer system. Perhaps now, they can get a clue as to what these aliens were up to.
Once connected, Vega rifled through the files before pulling up a structure's blueprints: Jacob's Ladderspace Station. "Slayer, you are not going to like this." The screen highlighted an object far away from the planet, being targeted to bring to this system.
More are on their way—time to bring out the big guns.
Meanwhile
Tsukasa Kadoya sighed, looking at the dead body of Daisuke Kazama, Kamen Rider Drake.
"I just...wanted to... be the wind. That's all."
Those were the man's final words. In every timeline variation, he wanted to be free of ZECT and the Worm Threat and live without limitations.
In the corner of his eye, Tsukasa noticed something moving. "Huh. This isn't the first time I've seen you die like this, but this is a first." The Drake Zecter crawled out from its connection to the Drake Glip. "You're normally Diend's domain, but he's not here right now." With a smirk, Tsukasa Kadoya picked up the Zector and calmed it down. "Don't worry, little one. I don't think your story is over just yet."
AN:
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