Now that the battle had finished, Amphibia continued down the street as the barriers dropped.

"Honoka!"

She spun around and aimed her sword at the person who had called out to her.

It was the girl from before!

She skidded to a halt. "Don't swing!" She held up both hands. "My name is Eli, I'm not a Lord! You're in the Light World, I'm still in the real world."

Amphibia didn't buy that for a second. "How come I can see you clearly?"

"It's an ability I have," Eli explained. "I can phase into the Light World and communicate with you. I can see you, hear you, talk to you, but I'm not actually in the Light World."

"And if I swing?" Amphibia asked, drawing back her sword.

"I'll die." Eli whispered. "I'm risking my life for you, I want to help."

That would have had Amphibia scowling if she was in human form. In her experience help often came with a large price tag. "I don't need your help." She turned to walk away.

Amphibia heard the patter of foot steps following her before Eli ran around in front of her. "The Alpha has dragged you into the Light World. I can get you out." She offered.

That would have had Amphibia frowning wider if she was in human form. "I've been in here before, I know how to get out, you kill the Lord that pulled you in!"

Eli shook her head. "You don't want to fight an Alpha, they're not like your regular Lord's." She ran off. "Follow me, now!"

Amphibia put her sword back on her backplate and ran after Eli.

Only for the blonde to vanish.

"Where'd she go?" Amphibia looked around for a minute before continuing on.

She ran into an alleyway, taking a left turn, then following it to the right before ending up in an open area again. In the center of the area was a carnival ride that looked like a horizontal wheel on a long arm.

"Huh, I forgot the carnival was in town this week." Amphibia spent a minute bemoaning her lack of money and her criminal reputation.

Suddenly, pitch-black rocks exploded out of the ground, forming into an arena that she was trapped in.

Let the battle begin!

Wave one:

A Crow Lord burst from the ground and flew into the air. It folded its wings and dived at the Kamen Rider. Amphibia spun the Agito Driver's ring three times with her right hand.

[THIRD CIRCLE!]

She drew the Hero Sword and swung it up, parrying a punch from the Lord. Amphibia spun, swinging her sword at the monster's head, only for it to fly backwards. Letting go of her sword with her right hand, Amphibia pointed both her right index and middle fingers at the monster. A barrier of pure-white light appeared behind it and the Lord bumped into it. Before it had a chance to recover. Amphibia leapt at it and slashed down, cutting a vertical pure-white light through the Crow. The monster lashed out with a barrage of feathers. Amphibia had no time to dodge or put up a barrier and was knocked to the ground.

2.1

Amphibia spun the Light Ancient Core's circle.

[THE HERO!]

Then she spun the Agito Driver's wheel.

[AMPHIBIA FINISH!]

"BARRIER OF THE HERO!" Amphibia coated her right arm in white-yellow light and moved it in a vertical circle, forming a barrier of light. She punched it and the barrier shot forwards. The Lord saw this and was coated in bright-pink light that was pulled into its wings before it gave them a flap, firing a wall of feathers. All the feathers that hit the barrier shattered before it impacted the Lord forcing it back and crushing it against a wall. Cracks spread through the Lord's body before it exploded.

Wave two!

A pair of Crow Pink Lords burst from the ground and flew into the sky. One of them dived at the Kamen Rider. Amphibia swung up with her sword only for the monster to twist out of the way. The second had fired a rain of feathers behind its friend.

The first Lord shot around behind Amphibia and kicked her into the attack's path. Sparks flew from each impact as the Kamen Rider took damage. Amphibia spun around, slashing a line through the first Lord, it shouted in pain as it flew backwards.

Suddenly, the belt ejected the Shield Ancient Core. The Agito Driver's light released a spiral of bright-yellow light, when it faded, Amphibia had transformed back into the Hero Circle. "Damnit! Out of power!" She hissed.

The first Crow Pink Lord flapped its wings, firing several feathers at the Kamen Rider while the second Crow Pink Lord dived down behind the feathers. Amphibia turned her driver's wheel once.

[FIRST CIRCLE!]

She threw up her hands, forming a circle-shaped barrier of bright-white energy that the feather pinged off. The second Lord impacted the barrier and shattered it, Amphibia's boots shone with pure-white light as she rolled to the side, avoiding the attack.

Coming back to her boots, she formed pure-white energy around her right fist as she punched the monster in the back of the head, sending it tumbling through the air. Suddenly, another rain of feathers impacted her backplate.

Amphibia spun around and fired her heat vision at the monster only for it to dodge and weave around the beams before firing more feathers, forcing her to cut off her attack. The second Lord kicked her in the back of her right knee, making her stumble. The second Lord roundhoused her in the back, forcing Amphibia to stumble forwards, right into an uppercut from the first Lord that lifted her feet off the ground. Both Lords shot into the sky and came down with a diving kick. Amphibia flew to the right, narrowly avoiding the kicks that impacted the ground and kicked up rocks.

1.1

"Time to try something a little different." Amphibia reached around behind herself and drew a new Ancient Core. This one had an orange grinder engraved into its circle.

This is the Grinder Ancient Core.

Suddenly, her belt transformed, its hip devices lost all of their slots. "What the!? What am I supposed to do now!?"

Suddenly, there was a pure-white glow coming from her back. Amphibia reached around and pulled out the Her Sword as six slots appeared on it, three on each flat side of the blade. It had seven slots if you counted the finisher slot. The slots on one side were the first, second and third slots, while the slots on the other side were called the fourth, fifth and sixth slots.

Amphibia looked between her sword and the Ancient Core she was holding before shrugging. "Worth a shot." She spun the core's circle.

[GRINDER!]

She placed it into the Hero Sword's first slot.

[GADGET SET!]

Then she held the sword horizontal and up to the left with her right hand before using her right index finger to tap the sword's trigger. "CIRCLE UP!"

[HERO UP!]

Amphibia held her sword upwards as it emitted a spiral of bright-orange light that shielded the Kamen Rider from view before fading, revealing her transformed form.

[GRINDER HERO!]

Amphibia's cape turned bright-orange and dark-orange gears hung from it. The image on her breastplate had been transformed into four bright-orange gears linked by three dark-orange gears. A second sword floated next to her. It was a broadsword with eight small circle-shaped grinders embedded into each edge. The handle was dark-orange while the blade was bright-orange.

Amphibia had transformed into her Grinder Hero Circle. She was armed with the Hero Sword and Grinder Sword.

[AMPHIBIA, LIGHT!]

The two Lords closed in on the Kamen Rider from either side. Amphibia spun the Agito Driver's ring twice.

[SECOND CIRCLE!]

She spun around slashing up at the first Crow Pink Lord, it flapped its wings, stopping itself and avoiding the sword. The Grinder Sword shot through the air towards the second Lord, which crossed its wings to block, only for the blade to slice through them and into it. Amphibia closed the distance between herself and the first Lord before slashing down with her sword held in her left hand. The Lord flew to the right, only for the Grinder Sword to shoot into Amphibia's right hand. She slashed up while jumping, hurling the Lord into the sky with a bright-orange vertical line cut through it and leaping after it.

Amphibia caught up to the Lord and slashed down with both swords, cutting a pair of vertical lines through its body and sending it flying back down. She flew after it and caught up, getting level with the Lord she spun around, while still upside down, kicking it into the second Lord, dazing both of them.

Amphibia removed the Grinder Ancient Core from the Hero Sword's first slot and loaded it into the finisher slot.

[GRINDER!]

Bright-silver and bright-orange energy gathered around both of her sword's as Amphibia hit the Hero Sword's trigger.

[AMPHIBIA FINISH!]

Amphibia landed back on the ground and crossed her sword over her head before bringing them down, uncrossing them. "GRINDER X!" Her slash formed an X. One line was made of pure-white energy, the other was formed from bright-orange energy and looked like a chainsaw. It cut through both of the Lords just as they were getting up, splitting them into four pieces, which then exploded.

Wave two complete.

Wave three:

Another Crow Pink Lorde burst out of the ground and flew into the air. It flapped its wings and came down at Amphibia. She held up her right hand, forming a barrier of pure-white light that had bright-orange gears bouncing around inside of it. The Lord hit the barrier and it exploded, pelting the monster with bits of scrap iron that badly damaged it.

Amphibia spun the Light Ancient Core's wheel.

[THE HERO!]

Then she spun the Agito Driver's ring.

[AMPHIBIA FINISH!]

Her helmet's wings fanned out along her circlet, revealing all six of them as the heroic logo appeared in the air above Amphibia. She held out her right hand and the energy making up the logo spun into a pure-white gear that buzzed an inch above her palm. The Lord saw this and shot into the sky before lighting itself with pink fire that formed into a screeching bird. It shot down at her head first. "HEROIC GRIND!" Amphibia hurled the disk at the Lord and it impacted the bird. Sparks were thrown up before the gear sliced through the fire bird and then through the Lord. Both halves flew past Amphibia and exploded.

Battle ended!

To be continued!